To Die Selfishly
by pandorasv13
Summary: Kingdom AU. As death closes in on his elder brother, Sasuke agrees to Naruto's last ditch effort to save Itachi: marry Haruno Sakura, the world's next greatest medic. However, there is one major flaw in the plan-no one can find her. As Naruto and Sasuke venture out in search of her, the circumstances surrounding her disappearance become increasingly disconcerting.
1. King's Dilemma

**Warnings: Swearing, NaruSasu bromancing, Adventure-focused plot**

 **NOTE: SasuSaku in this story is an EXTREMELY slow build, particularly in the first half of this story where there is no direct interaction and only hints at the larger romantic plot. If you are looking for a SasuSaku-centered story, this may not be for you.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

Hushed whispers circled the Uchiha Kingdom for months. At the beginning, it could be agreed that every murmur was filled with anxiety and disbelief, however, as time passed, doubts made way for confidence. Civil unrest was swiftly mediated, farmers and merchants regained access to their supplies and trade within weeks, and the wheels of the economy began turning once more.

By the third month, rumors no longer hinted at the younger brother's incompetence. By the fifth month, fears of the kingdom's collapse faded completely. By the end of the year, nearly everyone had made peace with Uchiha Sasuke as their new king, and accepted the cruel fate bestowed upon their benevolent, former ruler, Uchiha Itachi.

—Everyone, except for Sasuke.

"Is he visiting his brother again?" one councilman muttered bitterly as the sliding doors clacked shut with Sasuke's departure.

Shisui patted the older man on the shoulder, smiling politely. "Come now. All of us wear multiple hats, don't we? No matter how brilliant Sasuke-sama has proved himself to be, he still dons the hat of an admiring, younger brother."

"We are in the _midst_ of determining new trade agreements with the neighboring kingdoms," the councilman growled, slapping Shisui's hand away. "I see no fitting reason for our king to be running off to check on his invalid brother—"

In a flash, a dagger was pressed to the man's thick neck. Shisui's expression had cooled, despite the smile which remained steadily on his lips. "Sir. Need I remind you that his 'invalid brother' was your king only a year prior? Furthermore, he is my dearest cousin and friend. I would strongly suggest you keep your insults nonexistent." As with all Uchiha pure bloods, Shisui's ink black eyes could bleed red. However, his _particular_ abilities were among the fiercest in the clan. It was ludicrous to even consider crossing him.

The councilman swallowed nervously and nodded slightly, feeling the dagger graze his throat with a promise.

Shisui smiled wider, slipping the dagger back into the confines of his sleeve. With a nod, he took Sasuke's abandoned seat and cleared his throat. "Alright, now that that's settled. Why don't we return to the task of trade agreements? I'm sure Sasuke-sama will be very pleased when we already have proposals for him to look over upon his return."

XXX

Uchiha Sasuke slid the door to his elder brother's quarters open. The scene before him was a common one. Itachi's wife, Izumi, sat at his bedside, quietly reading from a well-worn collection of poems. On the other side of the futon, an aged doctor ran blood tests and took notes in a thick medical journal – no doubt full of Itachi's records. He had been their clan doctor since before their father was born, and now, as Sasuke observed his treatments, he finally saw the man's old age.

This would no longer do.

"Oji-san, your eyes and knees must be tired these days," Sasuke remarked, approaching the scene.

"Sasuke." Itachi spoke the warning softly, unseeing eyes somehow finding his younger brother nonetheless.

"Don't bother, Ita-chan," the old doctor huffed, rolling his stiff neck, "the brat is right. My old bones have taken quite the toll while watching over you."

"I trust no one but you," the older brother murmured gently, but firmly. The ferocity of his presence had greatly diminished over the course of a year, yet his voice remained ever powerful. Beneath the yukata, Sasuke was sure his brother had lost much of the muscle and raw energy everyone had admired – that _he admired._

"No need for compliments. I used to change your diapers," Oji-san cackled. Izumi giggled, and Itachi shot her an off-kilter glare. Sasuke noted the way her fingers softly squeezed his brother's hand, as if apologizing for the teasing.

It was an affectionate gesture. Sasuke had never experienced such trivial romantic joys, though he presumed it was pleasant considering Itachi shoulders settled once more. However, he had no time for such things right now. "Your attendant told me you have another attack," Sasuke deadpanned, crossing his arms as he watched his elder brother silently contemplate a response. Continuing in the silence, he said, "The current treatments are doing nothing. We have exhausted all the resources of this kingdom."

Gently releasing his wife's hand, Itachi laced his fingers together over the blanket draped across his legs. "…Then perhaps that is the conclusion, and you are merely being too idealistic, little brother."

Anger flared.

Itachi's mouth twitched. "You are king now. Don't tell me you've been losing your temper so easily?"

"Only with you, Nii-san," he quipped. "I'm saying that you need to stop being so stubborn and accept my previous suggestions."

"I do not trust the outside," he responded flatly. "We are not only entrusted with protecting this country. We are protecting our clan bloodline. I will not allow an outsider to approach me or my eyes."

Sasuke's lips curled back, baring his teeth. "You're being a fool."

"I can better sympathize with you now, then, hmm?" Itachi mused.

"I'm not interested in playing games at your death bed!" he snapped.

The room stilled.

After a long breath, Itachi lifted his head, dull, blind eyes seeking Sasuke. "Death is a part of us all, little brother. I do not wish to prolong my existence selfishly."

"To die selfishly is just as bad," Sasuke muttered, turning on his heel sharply. He threw the door open, calling over his shoulder, "You may believe I am ready to take this country, but I am still your foolish little brother." With that, the sliding door rattled shut, and a shuddering relief swept the room.

Izumi placed her hand on Itachi's shoulder, drawing his attention. "I also wish that we could be together longer. I know that I am not unique in my thoughts, either."

Although his family doctor remained silent, Itachi could practically hear his shared sentiments. However, none of them could convince him out of his thoughts. Death had been calling for him since long before, and perhaps he would finally be able to greet it.

XXX

Contrary to duties, Sasuke did not return to the meeting room. He trusted Shisui with matters of the state, and would make up for the lost time in the evening. After all, he was always buried in mounds of paperwork from the various bureaucratic offices. What was one more set of documents to rifle through?

So instead, he headed down to the training grounds, stopping only to change out of his formal attire. Visits with Itachi had been growing increasingly tense as of late, and the only person he could blow off steam with was a certain dumbass blonde.

When Sasuke emerged on the training grounds, a huddle of young academy children were circled around the person he was searching for. Spiky blonde hair poked out from their tight group formation, all heads ducked in discussion. Sighing, Sasuke silently approached them, his friend's backside to him. Shifting his katana as he did so, the king slammed the sole of his foot against the orange clad behind.

Yelping, his friend bolted upright, smoothing a hand over his offended bottom. Whirling around, he glared blue daggers at the smirking Uchiha. "Dammit, Sasuke! What the hell? You interrupted a very serious conversation."

He rolled his eyes, knowing full well it couldn't be anything more than some fighting game he was teaching them. "Whatever. Spar with me."

"Uchiha-sama and Naruto are going to fight?!" one of the academy kids shouted, riling up the others with his excitement. They cheered enthusiastically and backed away from the adults.

"Hey! I should be Uzumaki-sama, shouldn't I? Why is teme the only one being treated well?" Naruto complained. In answer, the kids only laughed and threw teasing insults. Despite the anger in the blonde's voice, his expression spoke only of affection. "Alright, alright, I guess I just have to beat the bastard to make you guys acknowledge the great, Uzumaki Naruto-sama!" he shouted, getting into a serious fighting position finally.

Sasuke wasted no more time, immediately closing the distance and throwing a volley of blows. His mind was clearing instantly with each hit, mind and body harmonizing under the pressure of following the other's movements.

"Is it Itachi?" Naruto muttered low so the cheering children couldn't hear.

He grunted, launching himself into the air, leg whipping out sharply.

Naruto ducked, barely dodging what would've been a lethal hit. A smirk graced the Uchiha's face. He recalled pulling a similar stunt when they first met as children. However, back then, the blonde wasn't quite fast enough to get away and ended up with a bloody nose and bruised cheek. "I'll take that as a yes," Naruto grunted, rolling back to his feet. "Is he still refusing outside help?"

Sasuke nodded minutely as he caught a punch and thrust his knee up. The blonde slammed his free hand against his rival's shoulder, using it as leverage to throw himself over Sasuke's head, twisting his fist out of the man's grasp.

Landing behind the Uchiha, he connected with a roundhouse kick, forcing his opponent off balance. Not wasting the opportunity, Naruto chased after him, aiming a punch directly in his face. Sasuke shoved out of the way, hard knuckles nonetheless grazing his cheek. "I've been thinking about it too, actually," the blonde stated almost nonchalantly.

"You can think?" Sasuke scoffed, sidestepping his friend to reach for his katana. He tapped the hilt in warning, only drawing it once he saw Naruto reaching for his own blade.

"If you've forgotten why I'm even in your crappy kingdom, let me remind you," Naruto huffed, metal on metal drawing sparks between them. "Kakashi thought somehow your country and your leadership could teach me a thing or two about what I need to do when I ascend the throne." He rolled his eyes, "I still don't see it, but whatever."

"You had a point?" Sasuke drawled, shoving hard against the other's blade, forcing them apart.

The blonde blinked, eyes brightening all of a sudden. "Oh, yeah!" Before he continued though, he swung his katana, sweeping low and deadly for Sasuke's knees. "It's an awesome idea, and I think it could work." Leaping up and out of the way, the Uchiha brought his blade down in an overhead strike. They clashed, Naruto losing ground from the disadvantageous position. Sweat trickled down the blonde's forehead, a grunt slipping between his lips as he struggled to bear the force of the attack.

In a last ditch effort, Naruto shoved a foot up, crying out triumphantly as he connected with Sasuke's abdomen. Pushing hard, he shoved the other man head over heels. Graceful as ever though, he landed on his feet – much to Naruto's chagrin. Just once, he would love to see his best friend fall on his ass like the loser he pretends not to be.

"Finish your point already, dobe." Sasuke sheathed his sword, interest piqued by Naruto's surprisingly optimistic exclamation. What _great_ idea could he have come up with that Sasuke hadn't already tried?

Glancing around conspiratorially, Naruto nodded toward the still watching crowd and then to the guards posted around the training grounds. Finally, he whispered, "Not here."

Catching on quickly, Sasuke grabbed a towel from a basket near the entrance to the field. "What time?" Snatching a second one, he chucked it at the following blonde.

Naruto immediately starting patting down the sweat covering his neck and face. "Can you take a break around 8PM?"

Nodding curtly, Sasuke headed off without another word. He had no idea what his friend was thinking, but if it required absolute privacy to discuss, Sasuke dared himself to hope.


	2. The Proposition

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

As promised, when the clock struck eight o'clock that evening, Sasuke had donned his civilian clothing and sneaked out of the palace. There was no privacy within the confines of his home, and therefore, the only place he and Naruto could comfortably meet was out on the streets of his kingdom.

Taking back alleys, Sasuke swiftly and confidently made his way to the outskirts of the capital city center, not stopping until he reached a non-descript teahouse. A single candle flickered in the front window. Naruto was already seated on the open air bench, cloak bundled up beside him. His clothing was dark and unassuming, a sharp contrast to the clownish orange training robes he often strutted around in. Sasuke could no longer recall how many times his friend had been yelled at for dressing like a buffoon when he should've been carrying himself with more dignity. After all, this goofball would be ruling a nation one day soon. In fact, he would be the ruler of Sasuke's largest ally nation – the Leaf Kingdom.

The shopkeeper was surely gone to bed a long time ago. She knew better than to get involved with those two boys when they were having a nightly chat. From childhood, she had watched them grow up, fighting and shouting all the way through. After all those years and the changing circumstances as of late, she knew better than anyone else how precious the privacy of the teahouse offered them.

"Took you long enough, teme," Naruto scoffed.

"Just get on with it," Sasuke returned, leaning against the tree opposite the shop and his friend.

"Okay, so you gotta promise to hear me out until the end."

His eyes narrowed. This was not a good start.

Naruto immediately sensed the scrutiny and started waving his hands in what he hoped was an appeasing manner. "No, no, I promise it's not crazy! It's pretty normal actually. I'd say even your lead tacticians would be impressed with my idea."

"But?"

He hesitated, chewing on his lip for a second. "…but it's not normal for you."

Sasuke glared.

"Don't pop a vein there, teme," Naruto joked, but the earnest look in his eyes told a different story. "Okay, so let's just remember the problem and that this is a solution." When Sasuke tensed, Naruto sped up his explanation. "Do you remember when our kingdoms used to do that joint primary schooling system?" A nod. "Okay, great. Do you remember our classmate, Haruno Sakura?"

"It's been 8 years, dobe."

"Alright, fair," he conceded. "I just thought you might…," Naruto shrugged, as if deciding against continuing that train of thought. "Anyway, she was our classmate. We used to hang out with her a lot during our last year of schooling. For the past 8 years, she's been the apprentice to Tsunade. You know who that is, right?"

Sasuke grunted in acknowledgement. He would be a fool if he didn't know. After all, he had pitched the idea of asking Tsunade for help multiple times, but Itachi refused even her abilities. Therefore, he had no idea where Naruto was going with this apprentice situation. Master and apprentice would draw the same reaction from his brother.

"Well recently, like a year ago, Sakura-chan finished her training and has built a reputation nearly on par with Tsunade."

"Itachi won't let her anywhere near him."

Naruto sat up straighter. "Because she's an outsider, right?"

Sasuke felt oddly as if he was being lured into a ridiculous trap. Nodding slowly, he kept his eyes securely locked on the blonde, watching for any sudden movements.

Noting the cautious twist in the atmosphere, Naruto treaded lightly. "…Well, what if she wasn't?"

"Explain."

"Think about it," he hedged. "It's been about a year since you became king, and people are going to start propositioning their daughters to be your wife, or at least a concubine." Naruto saw the calculating edge Sasuke's gaze took, and immediately latched onto that analytical reaction. "See? It's perfectly timed. Take Sakura-chan as a wife or concubine, and then Itachi won't be able to argue about an outsider providing him with medical treatment. How could he, as your loyal older brother, demonstrate such outright disdain for your chosen partner? He would _have_ to allow her to work on his eyes because she would be lawful family." Naruto was grinning then, excitement bubbling in his voice as he raised a finger, wagging it back and forth, "Furthermore, as lawful family, she would be under Uchiha clan jurisdiction, and so Itachi could trust that she wouldn't betray you guys so easily."

He had to admit…it was the dumbest, most brilliant idea Naruto ever spouted. There was only one major flaw. "And how am I supposed to convince a woman I barely recall, to become my wife?"

Naruto winced. "Well sure, that's one problem. There's another problem, too."

"Another problem?" he repeated slowly, expression turning menacing.

"You said you would hear me out until the end!" he reminded haphazardly. Sasuke waited in barely contained silence. Naruto quickly went on, "Okay, so yes, convincing her to marry you is definitely a major problem. The more pressing issue is finding her." Rather than risking another look at his best friend, he just pressed forward, "Four months ago, Sakura-chan was called to the Desert Kingdom to provide medical assistance to the elder brother of the king. However, she stopped reporting in after the two weeks. The last thing we heard was that she cured the ailment and would be monitoring his recovery for two more weeks before returning to the Leaf Kingdom." He licked his lips, anxiety finally bleeding through his good humor. "So she should've returned three months ago. But like I said earlier, no one has heard from her or seen her since then. We've sent scouting parties, but everyone comes back empty-handed. It's like she's been spirited away or something crazy like that."

"Why was she sent alone?" Sasuke kept his voice even, curiosity getting the better of his anger. "A medic of her prestige would normally be accompanied by heavily armed guards."

Naruto barked out a laugh. "Sakura-chan definitely doesn't need anyone to protect her. Tsunade trained her to be a combat medic. There was no reason to think she couldn't handle herself on a friendly trip to an ally kingdom. Besides, it wouldn't be her first time travelling alone. Sakura-chan was frequently going alone to survey the healthcare available in rural villages outside of the various kingdoms before she disappeared." He shook his head. "Point being, she's one of my closest friends and I need help finding her. If you help me, I'm sure she would also be happy to return the favor."

"Rescuing someone from a possible kidnapping is not the same as proposing marriage," Sasuke stated flatly.

"You wouldn't have to stay with her forever, teme," Naruto rolled his eyes, "just tell her like it is – no lies and no secrets. She would be totally on board to help Itachi, even if that means pretending to be your wife for a while." He put his hand up before Sasuke would butt in. "Look, look, before we start working out logistics, we need to find her first. You know as well as I do that I wouldn't be offering up this plan if it wasn't an absolute last resort." His face scrunched up. "Because no offense, teme, but Sakura-chan is like a sister to me, and I would never wish for her to get permanently stuck to your sourpuss self. So, what we need to do now is find her and then work out what happens next."

Sasuke was silent for a long moment, mulling over details. He understood the importance of being part of the rescue mission. If he wasn't, then that would make it ever more difficult to earn the trust of this medic, Sakura. Worse, it would probably be impossible to convince her to go along with Naruto's nutty plan if she didn't feel somehow obligated to return a favor to Sasuke. By going on the mission, he would have some leverage over negotiations. Sasuke smirked to himself. His lead tactician really deserved high praise for tutoring Naruto so well in the ways of planning and executing strategic formations.

Although the plan wasn't fool proof, it was a good last resort with high potential for results.

"What does she look like?" Sasuke finally asked.

Naruto grinned widely. "Bright pink hair. Can't miss her."

For the first time that evening, Sasuke felt a spark of recognition for Haruno Sakura, but somehow, it slipped away.


	3. June 23: Hide-and-Seek

_August 30_

They wasted no time getting started. Sasuke had spent the rest of the night weighing the pros and cons of his idiot friend's proposal, and found it to be the most favorable option thus far. Although there were certainly some overarching, _blaring_ issues logistically, Sasuke trusted himself to figure the details out later.

For now, as Naruto had said, the key task would be finding his potential bride-to-be. The very notion actually sent a shudder through Sasuke. As much as a companion of some sort should have been appealing, he found himself dreading the search and seize.

In considering the pitfalls of this plan, Sasuke had found that most of his objections orbited around emotionally-based arguments. As a person, he had already accepted that side of himself. As a ruler, he scoffed at the notion of determining the fates of others because he was _feeling_ a particular way. No. It would be logical and reasonable, or not at all.

As such, he now found himself in an emotionally disconcerting position, but also a highly sensible one. Political marriages were hardly a new phenomenon, especially among those in the Uchiha Kingdom. Itachi, for one, had been betrothed to Izumi from the age of 10. Such an arrangement merely ended up being a favorable one, and Sasuke thanked the gods each day that Izumi loved and stayed beside his elder brother.

"Teme, are you paying attention _at all_?" Naruto groaned, waving a messenger scroll around in one hand. The candle between them flickered lightly, casting sharp shadows across documents.

They sat in Sasuke's dimly lit study, pouring over documents concerning the mission to the Desert Kingdom, and Haruno Sakura as a whole. For an average citizen, it would have taken less than half this time to dig through their life. In her case, the record was so extensive that it took painfully long to rifle through all of it.

"I am," Sasuke grunted, rolling another scroll shut and tossing it aside. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he muttered, "This is merely frustrating. None of it makes sense. She was sent to the Desert Kingdom and then vanished without a trace. Have there been any other reports from their ruler? Shouldn't this have been a high profile situation?"

Naruto frowned. "Well, of course." His frown deepened, despite his answer. Hesitantly, he went on, "I mean, Gaara and I are good buddies, so it's not like the Desert Kingdom is ruled by a tyrant. He would've let me know all that he could about Sakura's disappearance."

"In the reports, it says she departed from the Desert Kingdom at 9:13AM on May 10th from the Main Gate," Sasuke summarized, eyes flitting back and forth as he worked through the details. "She would have crossed the desert in a caravan, and completed the last third of the trip on foot back through the dense forests surrounding the Leaf Kingdom. Accounting for mishaps, she would have taken no longer than a week, meaning she should have returned on May 17th."

"Right," Naruto confirmed, anxiety surfacing anew on his face. "We're approaching the beginning of September, and yet there haven't been any new leads. I honestly think she's been whisked away by ghosts or demons or something."

Sasuke shot him a flat look. "Idiot. That's hardly it. People don't disappear flawlessly. If it were a mere accident, we would be getting more evidence." He leaned back in his chair, fingers gripping the edge of the table. "Either someone has carefully covered up this incident," he paused, seeming to gauge Naruto's potential reactions.

If he spoke his next thoughts out loud, it could feasibly invoke a rage and shouting match that Sasuke had no desire to deal with at this hour. He could hardly handle Naruto's enthusiasm during day time. Sasuke didn't trust himself to be patient when the moon was up and the night was dragging on. Words had been blurring on pages for the last half hour and each piece of non-evidence pointed toward the same conclusion – no matter how unfavorable it would be.

Disappearances, especially under these circumstances, were most likely a political move. Furthermore, Sasuke had found only a single document officially signed and sealed by the Desert Kingdom's ruler. If he and Naruto were as close as Sasuke was led to believe, then why the scarce correspondences? Sasuke would even say that he was suspicious of the king's involvement. If he weren't involved, then why was he being so unhelpful? Surely, he would be exhausting all his resources to track Sakura's movements after leaving his kingdom. It also wouldn't be difficult, considering they were able to time stamp her departure.

A desert is vast, but there are no other surrounding groups or enemies, meaning it would've been child's play to send out a scouting party to search for clues.

"You're leaving me hanging, teme. Just spit it out already," Naruto snapped.

Schooling his expressions further, Sasuke pushed away from the table. "Have you considered the possibility that Haruno Sakura does not want to be found?"

XXX

 _June 23_

In the grand scheme of her future, she hardly considered this possibility. Keeping the lip of her hood low, she shuffled through the busy streets of a foreign town. Calculating green eyes flickered back and forth every few seconds, monitoring the immediate area for potential threats. Every muscle ached with unreleased tension – slowly losing a match with fatigue.

A light drizzle began as she made it within sight of her inn. Rather than feeling relieved though, dread sank to the pit of her stomach. After months of hiding, she hardly had enough left to feed herself and _him_. This night would be their last one sleeping indoors for quite some time. She cursed under her breath, knowing full well that that was not an option. What would she do?

Sighing, she ducked past the innkeeper and slipped inside her room. With a snap, the lock tumbled into place, providing a base level comfort. At least now she knew there would be a second's delay before enemies could get to her.

Shrugging the cloak off, she carefully laid it down on the edge of the occupied bed, and went about checking and securing the traps she set inside the room.

A wildness tainted her gaze, despite the steadiness with which she moved her fingers and hands to ensure everything had remained untouched. If someone _had_ broken in and merely redid all the traps perfectly, then she might just have to forfeit. Checking the window and safe thrice, she allowed herself a short reprieve.

"You don't have to go this far for me."

"What are you talking about?" she turned around, peering down at the propped up individual in bed. His eerily analytical gaze no longer gave her chills – as they once did in childhood. In fact, she recalled being incredibly discomforted by his presence when they were children, and for good reason. The spat Naruto started with him has ended with _her_ getting involved.

Long story short, she was lucky to have come out fully intact.

He frowned, minutely. "I am not your friend. There's no need for this level of loyalty."

"Friends or not, you're important to your people and the world at large." She smiled gently, approaching him with medical intent. Rolling the blankets back, her eyes landed on the lengthy gauze wrapping his torso. The bruising and bleeding had subsided for the most part, and the process of scarring had begun nicely beneath the wrappings. Those were merely a precaution at this point, since they spent quite a bit of time travelling. If the wounds opened up, it would be best to have gauze already in place and waiting.

Carefully, she began pressing down on key areas, testing his reaction. At the start of this unexpected journey, she hadn't even been able to touch him without causing harm. Now, he barely grunted at the checkups.

Flicking coal-rimmed eyes up to her, he parted his lips in response, "You go above and beyond your duty, Sakura. When this ends, I promise I will repay you and the Leaf Kingdom tenfold."

Hushing him lightly, she flashed a brighter smile, tucking a loose pink strand of hair behind one ear as she continued checking his vitals. "I'm merely doing my job, Your Highness. You don't owe me anything, and Naruto already adores you. There's nothing to be said of what I'm doing. We are allies. That's it."

Placing a firm hand on her wrist, he forced her to meet his gaze. "Then, at the very least, call me Gaara. We are allies, as you said. There will be no class distinctions here."

Sakura prepared to object, but then he squeezed her wrist urgently, as if refusing to allow anymore defiance from her. With a resigned sigh, she gave him a nod. "Of course, Gaara. I bet it will make travelling a lot more inconspicuous, if I call you by your given name."

Nodding once, he released her and leaned back, closing his eyes. Silence settled between them; however, at this point it had become more comforting than anything else. Sakura let her thoughts drift to the events of the last month and a half.

How had everything taken such a turn?

Warily, she glanced at the silent safe, its lock securely fastened. Despite that knowledge, she felt no comfort. The contents of that safe had been accidentally entrusted to them – a high-strung, young medic, and a heavily injured king – and nothing good would come of this situation.

They could only run for so long before someone finally caught up.


	4. Midnight Confession

**A/N: Some of you were asking about an update schedule...so, I'm going to admit upfront that I have an extremely erratic update schedule because my personal schedule is so unstable.**

 **Thank you so much for enjoying this story, and I'm apologizing now for my terrible updates. I am only able to write when I have the time, which can lead to multiple updates in one day, or no updates at all for months on end. Point-being, I will do what I can, but I make no promises.**

* * *

 _September 1_

Izumi rolled over for the umpteenth time that night, and Itachi was fed up. Heaving a sigh, he grasped her arm, stopping her from fussing with the sheets and pillows anymore. Her movements stilled immediately, and she relaxed back against the blankets reluctantly. Though neither of them spoke, the air was thick with thoughts.

Seeming hours passed before Izumi mustered up the strength to voice her insomniac musings. "I'm concerned about you," she murmured.

Itachi carefully slid his fingertips down her arm, soothing over the place he had gripped. "For what reason this time?" he joked wryly.

Unamused, she took his hand, entwining their fingers beneath the blankets. Still refusing to look at him, she turned her head away and spoke, "You know the reason. Please don't make a joke out of it."

"Ah."

Silence fell once more.

Izumi squeezed his hand, noting the softness of his once strong and sturdy fingers. In the past year, he had truly lost so much of what made him… _Itachi_. Despite her dedication to this man, she could not shake the pain and sorrow of watching him deteriorate into a shadow of his self. She had known him longer than Sasuke knew him, and even from those youthful days, Izumi had categorized Itachi among the stoic and unbreakable beings.

Furthermore, everyone in the kingdom would attest to that. Their beloved former king had ruled with a peaceful fist. His strongest card was silent intimidation, and when that failed, his ruthlessly efficient tactical mind could bring any enemy to their knees. Even in a pure battle of brawn, Itachi would most likely come out victorious. Izumi could not recall one story in which Itachi lost.

Losing was unheard of.

Yet, she could not shake the feeling that Itachi was calmly giving into the greatest enemy of all.

"All people pass on, Izumi."

She snapped back to attention, breath catching at the softness of his tone and the brush of his warm lips against her ear. Sighing, she turned toward him, finally taking in his somber, unfocused expression. The dull gleam of his eyes frightened her more than anything else. It was the first of _him_ that Death had taken away. "Not you," she murmured, fingers pressing into his jaw lightly.

"Me, as well," he chuckled, closing his eyes as he wrapped his hand around hers that rested upon his cheek.

"Why have you decided that you're no longer in charge of your existence?" Izumi glowered at his calmly collected expression. "Since we were children, I've watched you calculate your every action and word with multiple contingency plans lined up to account for all possibilities. You are prepared for some of the most ridiculous situations, and yet here, when death is knocking, I can't get you to budge."

Sitting up as adrenaline began filling her veins, Izumi glared down at her still unperturbed husband. "Are you simply done with all of us? Have you no desire to see Sasuke truly take up the mantle of kingship? What about his future spouse? Will you also refuse to live that long? Although I think Sasuke is too blunt with his words, I do agree with him. You are daring to die selfishly, and at this rate, you will."

"Why is it selfish?" Itachi finally spoke, expression remaining unreadable.

Izumi frowned. "You lack any consideration for the people around you. Life is so much more than yourself, so how can you act on your own without any regard for our feelings?"

"Haven't I always been of a selfish sort, then?" he murmured, gently running fingers through his long hair. As he did so, Izumi watched in a mix of affection and anguish. To her, it was a vision of a wilting rose, still breathtaking, but fast to fade.

Itachi slowly settled his hands in his lap, and continued, "As you said, I have always been in control of my existence. Each move was analyzed until flawless, and if not flawless, founded upon an endless supply of alternate plans which made even the worst laid situations seem perfectly plausible and sound." He smiled mirthlessly. "So, perhaps, the assumption would be I carry on in this existence of absolute power and control. However, am I now not entitled to carry on my authority? Now that the trajectory of my plans does not align with the feelings of the many, I am doing something selfish? What exactly is the determinant for selfish and selfless? For in my mind, I have always been deeply selfish and willful."

"Why have you now decided that you do not want to align your will with the majority?" her tone remained flat – unafraid.

Itachi smiled for the first time in a long time. "You are truly the only suitable wife for me."

"Answer."

Lightly, he reached out. Izumi thoughtlessly leaned toward him, letting his fingers caress her cheek. The air had shifted minutely. Despite buzzing with tension, the warmth of her concern was evident. Itachi crumbled beneath that affection every time. "So long as I live, Sasuke lives in my shadow."

"And so you'll die to solidify his power?" Izumi grimaced, shaking her head. "He would sooner dethrone himself, than watch his only elder brother die from a _curable_ illness. …you realize you're torturing him far beyond logical boundaries, right?"

He was quiet for a moment. "My foolish little brother is far more stubborn than any of the Uchiha. He will hardly succumb to my antics." Itachi pressed his face gingerly against her neck, seemingly relaxed. "Perhaps you both are correct in claiming that I have a selfish death wish. In this laid plan, I must disappear in order to give Sasuke the freedom he has yet to realize himself. There is weakness in him. That weakness comes from the inability to surpass me, and even now, he is unable to see beyond my presence to claim the throne with full authority."

"Sasuke has done very well as king in your absence, has he not? I believe many, if not all, the people of the kingdom have come to accept his position."

"Full authority is not just acceptance by the people, Izumi," he responded calmly. "He is still unwilling to give himself to the position. He remains in a mindset of submission to me. Just today, he walked out of a meeting in order to check up on my condition."

"Can you not just wait until he is ready? He will be prepared one day to come out from behind you, Itachi." Izumi no longer knew if she was infuriated or moved by the depth of his thoughts. Her words even echoed hollowly now.

"This is more than the kingship. My foolish little brother is driven by his emotions," he shook his head softly. "When provoked, he grows stronger. If upset, he's driven to the darkest corners. If happy, well, his pride tends to dampen any embarrassing displays of happiness these days. And when he loves," Itachi's smile was hidden against her shoulder, "his love takes shape as sacrifice. He would never dare shove aside a loved one to gain something for himself. Strangely enough, his very ascension to the throne was a sacrifice for my sake."

"How so?" she brushed her fingers lightly through his locks, pulling him closer.

Itachi chuckled, closing his unseeing eyes. "Sasuke has always been more comfortable in the shadows. He would rather spend his days operating under the radar than in the midst of finely groomed, squabbling politicians. His heart beats for adventure, and this building is more like a dungeon to him." Sighing, he pulled away from his wife to lie back down. "The kingship is not for him."

"Isn't that all the more reason to be the light?" Izumi pressed, lying down gently beside him. "You speak of releasing him from your shadow, yet you also say that Sasuke enjoys the shadows more than any other place. If you were to die, he would still be sacrificing his ambitions in order to fill your shoes as king."

"As I said much earlier before derailing my own statements," Itachi mumbled, "Sasuke hides in my shadow because he fears his own weaknesses. He may remain a soldier in the darkness, however, he must also face the light properly. Whether or not he desires the throne is inconsequential. It is his fear of growing beyond the comforts of my protection that I worry about."

She remained quiet, allowing her husband to speak without further interruption.

"For far too many years, he has used me as a shield against the things he dislikes. I fear continuing to be a convenient excuse for his lack of growth. There is a difference between choosing the shadows, and feeling that it is the most comfortable place for him. There is no room to grow in the shadow of another. If I am to be a proper elder brother who watches over Sasuke, I see dying as a perfectly acceptable method to make him reach his potential. He is not rational enough to put his own ambitions above familial affections. Therefore, I must draw on that weakness of his and force his hand." Rolling onto his side, Itachi hitched the blankets higher. "Enough. We both must rest. Sasuke will surely pester me once more tomorrow about this topic."

Izumi remained silent for a long minute before uttering one more thought: "What if he goes beyond your light while you still breathe? Will you still be set on dying?"

She did not receive an answer.


	5. Leave of Absence

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

* * *

 _September 2_

Sasuke expected the burst of denial from Naruto, but he hadn't expected the blonde to disappear for an entire day. When Sasuke had awoken some hours after their short spat, his guards had reported that Naruto left the palace grounds an hour or so ago. Deciding not to pursue the most likely sulking man, Sasuke went about his daily tasks.

Get dressed. Eat breakfast. Read over the minutes from the meeting he had walked out of the day prior.

The only thing aside from Naruto that was out of order was Itachi's refusal to see him. Usually, Sasuke made a point of visiting his elder brother twice a day – once in the afternoon, and once more in the evening for tea. Although they often ended up spitting insults, Itachi had never outright denied Sasuke access to him.

When the guard posted outside of his chambers shook his head and said, "Itachi-sama and Izumi-sama have requested that I turn away any and all people coming to see them today."

"Is this their idea of an impromptu honeymoon?" Sasuke scoffed, pushing past the guard. Much to his chagrin, the guard pushed back with some unease.

"Please, Uchiha-sama," the man begged, eyes shining desperately. "Listen to your elder brother for once. He must have his reasons for locking himself away today."

Sasuke glowered. "Had you been anyone else, know that I would have had your head already." Turning briskly, he retreated, feeling increasingly irritated. That guard had long been watching over their family. Among the choices, he was the only one trustworthy enough to stand guard over Itachi in his weakened state. Therefore, if it had been anyone else, Sasuke wouldn't have felt so inclined to pity him.

Nonetheless, it hardly changed his current mood. Why was everyone turning on him? He had merely told Naruto the most feasible scenario. Haruno Sakura would not have stayed hidden for so long if she wasn't evading capture. If her name truly preceded her as the reports stated, then there was no way every scouting party came back empty handed. Was it wrong of him to have pointed out the obvious? Sasuke scoffed to himself as he slammed the door to his study shut behind him.

Furthermore, what could he have possibly done to Itachi as of late? He couldn't recall being particularly forceful in the past few days. Why was Izumi going along with his brother's willfulness, anyway? She had already expressed her sympathies for Sasuke's plight to save him. They were on the same team, so why was she joining Itachi in his self-imprisonment?

"Ridiculous." Sasuke muttered, settling down at the table where Haruno Sakura's documents were still spread out. He had rifled through all the scrolls at least once, and still nothing seemed more likely. Rather than running away though, Naruto should have understood the implications of her apparent evasiveness.

Someone must be hunting her.

He grimaced. This whole situation was turning into a larger headache than he signed up for. Marrying a woman was already troubling. Saving said woman from possibly dangerous people seemed like far more than he wanted to deal with. The image of a sobbing Naruto made him halt in his increasingly pessimistic thoughts.

Pissing off Naruto was fun. Letting his closest friend down was not.

Sighing, Sasuke began cleaning up the piles of papers, rolling scrolls shut and tossing them back into the box they came in. Even if he didn't get anything out of this arrangement, it was clear that he was in too deep to quit. Naruto needed someone to watch his back, because Sasuke was positive the dumbass would run straight into the line of fire for this girl.

What had he meant when he said they were friends at one point? Sasuke frowned. It wasn't like him to forget people—especially ones he bothered to spend any significant amount of time with. Naruto had hinted that the two of them and Haruno Sakura had been something close to friends. Why would those memories fade?

XXX

 _July 7_

Sakura carefully traipsed across the slick, wet stones, careful of patches where the moss was smooth and slippery. Unexpectedly, hunting had come quite naturally to her. Despite being trained in combat, hurting others had never been of much interest to her and only now that the situation was dire did she understand the usefulness of her specialized skillset.

Lugging a thick, canvas satchel over one shoulder, she carried a stack of dry sticks in her free arms. A blisteringly powerful waterfall drowned out any nearby noises—a blessing and curse in their case. However, considering their previous hideouts, this one was certainly the best among them. A thin, gentle curtain of cold water blocked the entrance to the cave behind the waterfall. Shouldering through it swiftly, she blocked the dry wood with her body, protecting it from most of the water.

A small, crackling fire warmed the somewhat damp cave. It stretched further back than one would expect, hollowing out into a rather spacious area. Sitting up on a mat of soft brush, Gaara watched his companion approach steadily. A wool blanket was draped over the regal line of his shoulders, gauze-wrapped torso lit warmly by their campfire. Sakura quickly assessed his complexion, noting that he looked healthier each day. Her eyes further flickered to the carefully wrapped safe in the corner of the cave. A series of traps was set up around it, just in the off chance someone found them.

"I've brought back some berries," she announced, smiling excitedly as she set the satchel down and tipped the contents onto their makeshift cooking mat. It was merely a thin bed of large leaves, but it did its job. Sakura reached into the bag, tugging out a limp critter. "I also managed to get some meat. This should help you regain some of the strength you've lost."

"Should you not be concerned with yourself as well?" Gaara watched her closely, the analytical glint to his eyes growing clearer as his injuries healed.

Sakura waved off his remark. "I'm a trained combat medic, Gaara. This level of hardship is nothing I can't handle. What's more important is returning you to a stable condition." She set about skinning their catch, knife strokes smooth and precise.

"Trained or otherwise, humans are still vulnerable creatures. The less we love ourselves, the more we are put at risk."

She paused, looking up at him then. "You sound just like Naruto."

"He's a well-spoken friend."

Sakura snorted. "Sometimes I wonder if you don't give him too much credit. He's a fool 99% of the time and then that 1% is when he acts like the king he will be someday."

Gaara was quiet for a moment, as if contemplating his next words carefully. Finally, he spoke, leaning back against the cave wall. "And you…plan on becoming his queen?"

Her finger slipped, nearly taking off an entire portion of their dinner. Flustered, Sakura met Gaara's inquisitive gaze. Settling back, she sighed. "Please don't make jokes like that, Your Highness," Sakura grinned. "He's like my brother. The only thing we're missing is shared blood." Pursing her lips, she continued, "…besides, I…don't think I have much to offer anyone as a lover. The work I do doesn't lend itself to a stable life." As if to punctuate the point, she nodded around to indicate their current situation.

"I have…been curious." Gaara scrutinized her. "You choose to place yourself in difficult roles as a medic. No one forces you."

She chose silence over answering. Gaara pressed no further.

XXX

 _September 4_

"Finally done sulking?" Sasuke scoffed, looking up from his desk as Naruto entered, shutting the door behind him. It had been two days since the idiot stormed off. During that time, Sasuke had only further determined that whatever situation Haruno Sakura had gotten herself into was dire. The more time they wasted pondering the predicament, the worse off things would become.

The blonde frowned. "I was just taking a few days to think, teme. Don't you know what kind of brainpower it takes to think carefully?"

"What a joke coming from you." Sasuke tossed a scroll across the room, not checking to see if Naruto caught it. "Read it."

"Before that, I wanna say that I've decided you're right." Naruto blanched at his own words though, clearly reluctant to have admitted such a thing. "Sakura isn't someone who would just disappear without a good reason and whatever she's dealing with right now must be huge. I'm really worried about what could've happened, especially after I tried to contact the Desert Kingdom over these past two days. They sent back a letter today saying that they were still sending out scouting parties, but nothing had come up. Furthermore, they hinted that resources were running low for this type of mission and it was becoming bothersome—can you believe that?" Naruto fumed. "They lose one of _my_ people, and try to brush it under the rug like it was nothing. Giving up the search after only a few months hardly shows any commitment—"

Sasuke impatiently stood up, strapping his chokuto to his belt loop. Grabbing his travel cloak off the hanger beside his desk, he muttered, "You're wasting time, dobe." He swung a travel pack over one shoulder and proceeded toward the door.

"What?" Naruto fumbled after him, demanding an explanation. Instead, all he received was a pointed glare and a not so subtle head nod at the scroll still gripped in his hand. Tugging it open quickly, he scanned over the official document.

 _Attention Personnel:_

 _Uchiha Sasuke-sama will be away on business for three months. The nature of the trip is classified. The public will not be privy to his leave of absence. During this period, Uchiha-sama has tasked Uchiha Shisui with overseeing all official business._

 _3 September XXXX_

The Uchiha seal was stamped beneath the brief notice.

"Did you write this? Sounds like you," Naruto snorted, "Even calling yourself 'Uchiha Sasuke-sama'—oof!" A hard fist caught him in the stomach, making him jerk back. Naruto grunted, rubbing his belly. "Take it easy, teme. You're so sensitive."

Sasuke flicked the hood of his cloak up. "Do you have everything?"

Naruto nodded with a grin, hiking his own travel bag higher up on his shoulder. "I thought I'd have to convince you more to get your stubborn ass moving, but I'm glad we're on the same page." He rolled the scroll shut, stowing it away in a pocket of his bag. "So I was thinking we should make our way to the Desert Kingdom first. Their communications have been strange. I want to confront Gaara directly."


	6. Story of an Angel

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

Itachi's expression grew increasingly difficult to decipher as Shisui relayed Sasuke's plans. Once finished, Shisui rolled the official notice shut, setting the scroll aside quietly. "I think it's good for him to be out and about," he remarked, eyeing his stoic cousin warily. "I can't really tell how you feel about this, but if it means anything, I trust that Sasuke knows what he's doing."

"He should not be trivializing his duties for months on end in order to pursue whatever this elusive mission is," Itachi nearly hissed, neck muscles twitching rapidly as he clenched the soft white fabric of his blanket.

Shisui hesitated to say that Naruto was most likely with Sasuke. He couldn't be sure that that would comfort the former king or not. Instead, he said, "Maybe he'll comeback more prepared to take on the responsibilities of kingship."

"A vacation to replenish his motivation?" Itachi mocked. "Foolish little brother. He acts without concern for others."

"He's been doing a fine job for the past year, I think," Shisui offered meekly. Clearing his throat, he added, "Sasuke always does his work seriously, even if he ends up staying awake late into the night. The councilmen may give him a hard time now and then, but they would not be a reliable council if they only had praises to sing."

Despite being blind, Itachi had the uncanny ability to direct his gaze at whoever he was speaking too. Faded, blurry eyes were still somehow focused, and Shisui had to chase away a chill. That was eerie. "Did he not claim to be departing for a lengthy period? During that time, if a single rumor surfaces about Sasuke's absence, the security of our kingdom will be put in danger. Our foreign enemies and even those within our walls who are discontent may very well rise up in arms."

"I think you're overreacting, cousin," Shisui finally sighed. "The world will not come tumbling down if Sasuke is out of the kingdom and completing whatever self-assigned mission he has given himself."

Itachi grimaced. "You are merely lenient."

"I have trust," he returned with an exasperated smile, crossing his arms where he leaned against the open window's sill. "And Sasuke has trust in me to take care of matters while he's gone. …Or maybe the problem is that you don't have faith in me?"

"You are fishing for compliments," Itachi returned, but the tell-tale curve of his lip was enough to reassure Shisui of where the conversation stood. Shaking away the amusement, he moved to speak further, but then his chest shuddered, and thick coughs rattled his lungs. Covering his mouth, Itachi fought the liquid bubbling up his esophagus, but failed to hold it back as blood spilled from between his trembling fingers.

Without hesitation, Shisui was striding to the door. "I'll get the doctor. It'll be only a second." And then he was hurrying down the short hallway.

XXX

Sasuke considered strangling Naruto for possibly the tenth time in the past hour. The blonde had been chattering almost non-stop about the most useless of things, and during times when he should've been paying attention to their surroundings, he was merely prattling on about Leaf Kingdom food and women and games.

Normally, it was easy enough to engage in a spar to shut him up, but that was hardly an option as they took open roads cutting through crowded villages and empty forests. The Desert Kingdom lied to the east of the Leaf Kingdom, while the Uchiha territory resided to the south. As such, the convenience of traveling high up in the tree tops of the Leaf's dense forestry was not an option. On foot, it seemed excruciatingly longer, and probably was considering how little distance they could travel in an hour.

On the other hand, it was much more convenient to travel in public spaces when they were possibly being watched. Whoever was hunting Haruno Sakura had to have a wide network. Who was to say that network wasn't also watching Naruto and his allies? Furthermore, they were not the first search party. It was highly likely that spies were everywhere.

"…and then she tried to ask me out while I was having ramen. My mouth was totally full and I almost choked trying to tell her I couldn't go on a date with her—"

"—does Haruno Sakura have any contacts in the Leaf, Uchiha, or Desert territories outside of the main capitals?" Sasuke interrupted, feeling a vein pulsing painfully in his head. Anything was better than listening to Naruto ramble any further about his daily life. Besides, Sasuke was almost positive he had heard all of these stories numerous times.

The blonde pursed his lips in thought, eyes squinting. "Mm…I think there's someone in the Desert Kingdom who lives just outside the walls of the capital. She's a retired healer. They call her Elder Chiyo." He crossed his arms. "I know she has tons of contacts all over the place though. Honestly, if we just went to the local medic in each of these small towns, I bet they would all know her name."

"Know her name, or know her personally?" Sasuke frowned. He hardly cared about her popularity. Would any of these people have information on her whereabouts? Clearly there was something corrupt about the search parties sent out by the Desert Kingdom. It seemed like they weren't even trying if they had misplaced someone of such high esteem to the Leaf.

"God, teme, you act like I stalk her," Naruto huffed, "how should I know every single person she works with? I told you that these missions are solo. She doesn't bring anyone with her. She's also pretty…secretive, I guess. Sakura-chan doesn't talk about work with me."

"So you're useless."

Naruto opened his mouth indignantly, but before he could pick a petty fight, a heavy object slammed into his back. Grunting, he staggered forward, whirling around and snatching the offending object. The bark of a large stick dug into his calloused palm as he yanked it away from a small boy. "What the hell, kid?" he snapped.

The boy glared fiercely, white bandages wound firmly about his slender neck whilst more bandages covered his left eye. Dirt encrusted his tanned forearms and calves while the rest of his body was covered in threadbare rags. Patches of his black hair stuck up in messy clumps, shiny with grease. "Foreigners should _stay out!_ " he snarled, kicking a scrawny leg out, hitting Naruto in the knee.

Yelping, the blonde stumbled again as Sasuke watched on in contained amusement. "Tell this kid to back off, teme!" Naruto shouted, tossing the stick away and running to hide behind Sasuke. "He's crazy!"

As if in response, the boy snarled like a bear cub.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, kneeling down until he was eye level with the child. At this height, the boy could finally see Sasuke's face beneath the cloak's hood. In a flash, his dark irises bled scarlet, black tomoe spinning wildly for a brief moment before calming. "Is this how a child of the Uchiha Kingdom behaves?" Sasuke murmured evenly.

Tensing up in shame, the boy flushed and dropped his gaze, clearly having not expected this. "I…It's not my fault," he mumbled, biting his bottom lip. "Bad things happen whenever foreigners come through here." His one functioning eye welled up with tears. "They stole from our shops. They…They attack us. They even attack their own."

"What do you mean?"

The boy began crying fat salty tears until snot was running from his nose. "After they c-came, she disappeared."

Sasuke glanced up at Naruto who had stopped cowering and now stood over them, blue eyes somber. They exchanged a look. "Who?" he demanded.

"I…I don't know," he shook his head. "They were scary—"

"—no. The woman. Who was she?" Sasuke glared without realizing, and soon the child was overcome with sobs, unable to answer.

Naruto nudged Sasuke with a foot, panic in his eyes. Nodding fervently at the child, he mimicked a cradling pose and then pointed at the boy. Sasuke grimaced and then opened his mouth to say _no way in hell_. Before he could, the small boy was throwing skinny arms around his neck, crying loudly into his shoulder.

Wincing at the noise, Sasuke reluctantly swept the child into his arms, patting his back awkwardly as he shot menacing glares at Naruto. The blonde covered his mouth, trying very hard not to laugh out loud.

"U-Uchiha-sama, p-please help us…," the child sniffled, entire body trembling. "If they come back…i-if they kill any more people…."

"They won't."

The child looked up, swollen face red and blotchy. "R-Really?"

"Where is the village chief?" Sasuke pulled the child back, carefully setting him back on his feet. Blinking, his eyes grew pitch black once more.

Wiping furiously at his face, he pointed toward the end of the main village road. "He lives down that way. I can show you there." He glared at Naruto though. "I still hate foreigners, even if Uchiha-sama likes you." With that, the boy headed down the road with his head held high.

Naruto growled. "Cheeky brat."

Sasuke snorted. "Takes one to know one."

"We are _nothing_ alike!" he snapped.

"Hn."

Minutes later, they stopped in front of a modestly sized hut with a simple wooden door. Naruto was still hissing insults and defenses against being compared to a child when the door opened to reveal an aging man with severe eyes. The wrinkles creasing his face did nothing to lessen the brunt of his judging gaze.

"Chief!" the boy greeted, saluting.

A flash of affection eased the chief's expression. Saluting back, he turned to Naruto and Sasuke. "Who are these two strangers?"

"They said they'll protect our village!" he announced, and then in a secretive voice, he added, "Uchiha-sama can be trusted, but not the blonde foreigner."

"I can _hear_ you," Naruto snapped.

The boy barely acknowledged the remark.

"Uchiha-sama, is it?" the chief scrutinized Sasuke, "my eyes are quite old now, so it's hard to tell these things." Nudging the hood back slightly, Sasuke allowed sunlight to illuminate his features. Satisfied, the chief, stepped out of the doorway and waved for them to enter. "Thank you for your kind offer to help."

"It's nothing."

The chief cracked a small smile at that. "You are Uchiha Sasuke-sama, yes?" He chuckled, taking a seat at the small round table in the center of his single room hut. "I only met Uchiha Itachi-sama once in the past. He, too, was dismissive of any gratitude we desired to show."

Sasuke shrugged his hood down, eyes flickering over to where Naruto and the child were arguing quietly but vehemently in a corner. Internalizing a sigh, he made peace with how this mission would go. One of them had to be mature, and it was never Naruto. "The boy said there was a foreign woman. Was she a doctor?"

"An _angel_ , Uchiha-sama," he corrected. "Doctors are not able to perform the miracles Haruno-sama does." Coughing softly, the chief continued with a small smile touching his lips, "She began visiting our village a few years ago, telling us that she was travelling to the outer lying settlements in the Leaf and Uchiha Kingdoms. Since then, she has been returning twice a year for two weeks at a time."

Sasuke kept quiet, impatiently waiting for this man to get on with the details. He was already aware of these facts.

"It must have been a few months by now, but the last time we saw her, she was traveling with a young man."

He tensed, a rush of scenarios flitting through his mind's eye. "Do you remember anything else?"

Naruto had finally calmed enough to come over, particularly interested now that the topic was firmly on Sakura. "Was the guy handsome?" he chimed in.

The chief thumbed his chin, struggling to recall the memories. "I could be wrong, but I think he was a patient of some sort. I only saw his face briefly when she came to me asking for permission to stay at our inn. During that time, she kept to herself…it was a very different behavior compared to how Haruno-sama normally acted when visiting us."

"Was Sakura-chan injured?" Naruto demanded. Immediately, a small elbow jabbed him sharply in the side. He jumped, shooting a hateful glare at the fierce child. "What is your _problem_?"

"Don't call Sakura-sama so familiarly," the boy reprimanded, crossing his arms. "She's too good for you."

"I am the Leaf Kingdom's great—!" Sasuke shoved a hand over Naruto's mouth, glowering at him. The more people who knew they were travelling undercover together, the worse off they would be. As heirs to two of the largest kingdoms, it was unheard of and highly dangerous to be traveling together alone without any reinforcements.

Sheepishly, Naruto slumped back, pushing the hand away and clearing his throat. "…Look, kid," he peered down at the angry child, "Sakura-chan and I are really old friends. I can call her what I want."

Sasuke sighed, turning back to the chief in hopes of getting back on track. To his relief, the elder was also quite ready to get on with his story.

"Haruno-sama and her companion only remained for a week at most. When they left, her companion still seemed too injured to be travelling and I tried to convince her to stay. However, she refused, saying they had already remained too long." His expression grew dark. "Shortly after their departure, our village was visited by a group of strangely dressed foreigners. They were looking for her. When they didn't get the answers they wanted, they destroyed many of our shops and the young men and women who tried to fight back were slaughtered." The chief paused, clenching his hands. "It was my fault. I should have protected them."

Naruto spoke up. "You're the chief and you raised a village of strong willed people. It's not your fault they died trying to protect what's important to them. I'm sure they were happy that they could do anything for their loved ones during such a difficult time."

The chief was silent, as if stunned by the statement. Blinking slowly, he lowered his gaze, chuckling. "I accept your comforting words, Uzumaki-sama."

"How…"

He offered an exasperated smile. "I am aware of only a few people Haruno-sama has mentioned who are allowed to call her 'Sakura-chan'."

"Have these attacks persisted?" Sasuke spoke evenly, drawing attention back to the main point.

The chief nodded grimly. "There is only one person now, but he is not to be underestimated. He also grows more and more ruthless with each visit." He waved for the young boy to come closer. "Recently, he's been targeting the children who play on the streets. I have tried to send correspondence to some neighboring villages, and even the capital, but none have gone through. I believe there must be a patrol network of some sort that's intercepting mail."

Sasuke pressed his lips into a flat line, piecing the puzzle together. He had originally wondered by the boy had been wearing such faded and torn clothing. If they had no ability to trade with or communicate with surrounding villages, getting supplies and the like would become near impossible. Perhaps even access to basic necessities had been cut off.

Furthermore, who was Haruno Sakura traveling with and why were they being hunted so thoroughly—to the extent that previous villages they passed through were under surveillance? And this had been on-going for months? Sasuke tried to recall any reports of misconduct from his kingdom's outposts, but could think of none. Were his men slacking off? Why had they failed to report on these villages?

Bolting to his feet, Sasuke flipped his hood up, walking toward the door. "We're going."

Naruto scrambled up and after him. "What? What's wrong, teme?"

Sasuke glanced back at the chief. "They will not bother you again."

Without another word, he pushed the door open, cloak snapping around his heels with each decisive step. This entire mission had become far bigger than finding a young medic gone missing.


	7. Greatest Annoyance of His Life

_July 27_

"No need."

Sakura's hands continued to hover for a moment longer, green eyes searching Gaara's for some sign of pain. They had been travelling nearly non-stop for the past day without a suitable town in sight. Even if the king's wounds had been stable for a couple of weeks now, that didn't mean he should be exerting himself. Even a healthy person would struggle after such grueling travel. "You have no reason to act tough, Gaara," Sakura assured gently, "I've seen you at your worst."

A rare smile broke across his face, but it lasted barely a second. "You certainly have grown comfortable."

She laughed softly, but the unease had yet to leave her. Peering over her shoulder, she listened for anything beyond the wind rustled leaves and chirping creatures. Turning back to Gaara, she noted his hand pressing against his surely sore abdomen. "We need to find shelter," Sakura sighed, "there's no way we can keep moving like this."

"Do we have such luxury?"

Chewing on her lip, she replied, "It's a necessity. I cannot numb your wounds any more than I already have without causing permanent damage to your pain receptors." Sakura looked around once more, wondering if there wasn't even one village they could still access. Although she loathed the idea of bringing danger upon an innocent town, they were running out of options. Furthermore, as she saw it, none of these towns would be safe anyway.

Hushed rumors had found their way to her ears each time she sneaked into a town for more medical supplies. _They_ had been systematically overtaking town after town—each one with a personal connection to Sakura's work. When she first noticed the pattern, it was infuriating, but the emotions could only run high for so long before despair took its place. She had the choice between protecting the king of a nation and protecting the lives of her many clients and friends. If she abandoned Gaara in search of vengeance and liberation, they would kill him immediately.

Neither option was good.

As they now stood, Sakura was no longer positive what the right choice had been. If even one trustworthy face could have come to their aid, she would've gone to her knees and praised every god and goddess. Now though, it had been nearly two months of hiding like rats. Although she hated to admit it, both Leaf and Desert agents were highly suspect. Any of them could be lying or hiding their allegiances.

 _Naruto…_

She shook her head. It would only sink her further into a depression if she thought of her oldest friend. He would definitely still be seeking her out. She only wished that she could believe in the personnel sent to find them. Images of the incident in the Desert Kingdom made her flinch.

Really. No one could be depended on. The less people involved meant less potential threats.

"I'm going to scout further ahead—"

Sakura gasped sharply, dodging an arrow whirring toward her head. Quickly, she rolled over, seeing Gaara had also thrown himself to the ground with a pained expression. "Stay down!" she ordered, eyes surveying the darkening woods. A metal glint caught her attention and she leapt up, darting toward the light.

The razor sharp edge of another arrow skimmed the thin skin of her throat, but she ignored it, pressing forward until she burst through the speckling of trees, driving a fist into the darkly clothed attacker's face. Sakura gritted her teeth on impact, feeling a crunch beneath her chakra-enhanced attack.

Chunks of dirt crackled and exploded, blurring the terrain and cratering the earth. Sakura wasted no time in spinning around, eyes finding Gaara back on his feet and blocking his own attacker with a shield of sand. The fact that Gaara had regained enough chakra control to manipulate sand was a blessing. In a flurry, she sprinted back through the brush, snatching for the stranger's cloak. Faster than her eye could process, a sharp pain crackled through her back, throwing her headlong into the trees.

Sakura braced herself, skidding and rolling across uneven terrain. Uneasily, she rose to her feet and conducted a mental survey of her injuries. They were manageable at the moment. Wincing, she made her way back toward Gaara, anxiety peaking as she watched him on the pure defensive against a flurry of attacks. The concentration was evident on the king's face, and by the looks of his stance, he wouldn't be able to maintain that level of precise control much longer.

Analyzing their opponent, Sakura tried to find an opening. Despite his long jacket, he moved swiftly. It was a blur of black and red fabric as he launched literal explosives at the increasingly waning sand barrier. Wisps of blonde hair peeked out from beneath his straw hat, but otherwise, his features were hidden behind a large collar.

She inhaled deeply.

Concentrating her chakra, she pulled a tight fist back and slammed it into the ground, watching as tremors and then deep fissures tore the forest apart. Tree were uprooted and plumes of dust launched into the air. At near breakneck speeds, she threw herself into the chaos, reaching out and feeling sand curl around her wrist, guiding her bodily forward.

Two hands caught her by the arms, and through the clearing dust she met Gaara's pale eyes. Exchanging nods, they spun and launched into the forest, running as far and as fast as possible.

XXX

 _September 4_

The nearest outpost was only a few miles north of the village. Sasuke was running, Naruto keeping pace alongside him. They spoke in low voices, but the urgency remained. With each word, Sasuke knew that his companion was growing increasingly nervous. He should have expected this. Leave it to Naruto to become emotional first, rather than rational.

"We have to get to her faster!" the blonde growled. "If an organization that's big enough to terrorize multiple villages simultaneously is after her, then who knows what kind of danger she's in?"

"This is worse, dobe," Sasuke snapped. "She's no longer the only priority."

Naruto frowned angrily. "I know that," he retorted, "…but she's still a priority. We have to get in contact with the capitals and send out support teams to deal with all of these villages. It'll be a waste of time to try and fix all of it ourselves."

Surprised, Sasuke threw his friend a look. "So you actually learned something from my people."

"You're always underestimating me, teme," Naruto clicked his tongue, "I'm an incredibly brilliant and powerful person. Of course I know something as simple as delegating jobs."

"Hn."

"You still don't sound convinced." Naruto griped.

This time, Sasuke chose not to answer, instead picking up the already brutal pace of their run.

They covered the few miles more than efficiently, only slowing down once they were just within sight of a large, wooden watch tower. The Uchiha symbol was painted into the side of the simple building. More than that, their collective attention was caught by how _pristine_ the place was. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, taking in the seemingly fresh paint and gleaming glass windows. A thick, richly colored flag whipped in the air around the rooftop.

Eyes bled red.

Immediately, the image rippled away to reveal boarded up windows, cracked wooden panels, and a poorly painted over Uchiha symbol. The flag had been replaced with a new one that had the curious image of a red cloud on black fabric. Naruto rubbed his eyes, trying to keep up with the sudden change.

Sasuke moved forward, unsheathing his chokuto as he approached the broken door. There was no movement from inside, but that did little to appease him. They had already determined that the culprits behind the entire situation were not to be trifled with. He glanced at Naruto, the two of them exchanging a nod before splitting up to circle the decrepit watchtower.

They were both nearly to the back of the building when the soft _click, click, clicking_ of something stilled their movements. Sasuke leapt back bracing his blade before him as a steel claw broke through the wooden boards nailed over a window. Strong coils whirred loudly as the claw extended, clamping down on his weapon.

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke hooked a leg around the contraption's arm, steadying himself before turning his wrist forcefully until the lethal edge of his chokuto ground into the steel claw. Using both hands, he continued putting pressure, ignoring the sparks and hisses of the machine.

From the ground, he heard Naruto shouting. The blonde had brandished his own blade, bringing it down harshly on the root of the steel coil arm protruding from the open window. The wires and metal flesh groaned before bursting apart.

Sasuke was plummeting for the ground then, the claw still tightly gripping his sword. Releasing the weapon, he jumped back, shielding his body behind the thick material of his cloak as dust and shrapnel shot up around the useless machine arm.

"Sasuke!" Naruto was bounding up to him, standing on guard as his friend quickly reclaimed his weapon.

Nodding at the blonde, Sasuke snatched his chokuto up, rolling his wrist experimentally to feel for any issues in the weight of his weapon. Coming up beside Naruto, he surveyed the hole in the former Uchiha outpost. The dust was clearing slowly, but even from their positions outside, it was obvious that a larger mass of _something_ waited inside.

Reaching into his thigh holster, Sasuke tugged a small explosive free, giving Naruto a short glance before chucking the bomb through the hole and diving for the trees. He pressed himself back against a large trunk, squinting against the sudden burst of fire and rubble. Naruto had taken to the bushes near Sasuke's position, completely curled into himself in a defensive huddle with his hood tugged up. _Idiot._ Sasuke rolled his eyes. If the fool got smacked by flying debris, he had no one else to blame but himself.

A second explosion rocked through the building, following by the popping of…something inhumane. Sasuke winced at the deafening roar of the explosive, both ears ringing faintly as he very carefully peered around the tree. Sparks and hunks of charred metal burst forth from the now crumbling ceiling. The already decrepit wall with the hole groaned and crashed to the ground in a fiery heap. Sasuke blinked, feeling his vision grow sharp as his eyes pulsed scarlet. Through the haze, he picked out a writhing humanoid creature composed of mostly metal and wood. It seemed to have scraps of fabric clinging to its shoulders, but those were quickly being swept up in the flaming tornado.

Naruto finally crawled out of his defensive crouch to give the burning building a hard look. Whistling almost playfully, he remarked, "You think maybe that was a bit strong?"

"It was a hand explosive," Sasuke countered, grimacing and clearly perturbed. "Whatever was waiting in there had combustible parts."

"Like…for us? You think someone was going to blow us up?" Naruto's eyes widened.

He rolled his eyes, scoffing. "Think harder, loser."

The blonde's eyes narrowed, face scrunching up in concentration. After a moment, it cleared and he clapped his hands together in triumph. "Why can't you just be honest, teme?" he chortled. "I was basically right. If that creature was a trap for intruders or other people who dared to challenge the outpost, then we count as well. I mean, sure, they weren't after us exactly, but they still did a damn fine job of trying to kill us."

"It was mediocre. A child's trick." Sasuke pushed away from the tree, heading deeper into the woods in search of an alternate path back to the village. They needed more information on not only Haruno Sakura's other client-villages, but also the physical appearance and demeanor of the village tormenter. There had to be a person beyond that creature in the outpost pulling the strings and harassing the villagers. A mere humanoid trap like the one they just burned to death wouldn't have the gait of a human. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to navigate anywhere. And if the chief had failed to warn them of such an alarming monster, that meant they had never encountered the monster. Therefore, who was visiting them with threats?

Another more pressing concern came to mind: _who had the capacity to control that creature_?

The initial claw that flew at Sasuke was not a fluke or a malfunction. The owner of that trap knew exactly what they were doing. Were they controlling it remotely? Were they there the whole time?

"—Teme!"

Sasuke's eyes flitted to Naruto. "What?"

"You still got that fat pet hawk?"

He prepared a sarcastic retort, but then realization struck him. If anyone even attempted to intercept Garuda, they were in for a truly rude awakening. Even for his breed, the hawk was large and menacing. Furthermore, as it bore an Uchiha Royal Seal on its tracking anklet, no one would dare cause it harm lest they were prepared for a manhunt of gross size and strength. Even harming a messenger hawk of the ruling family could be considered a crime worthy of… _significant_ punishment.

Skidding to a halt in the next forest clearing, Sasuke tugged a small, bamboo whistle free from his pack. Mentally, he calculated where Garuda would be and whether or not he would be able to hear his master's call. Then again, Sasuke had trained the hawk to fly as far as the outer regions of both Uchiha and Leaf lands. Considering they were still relatively close to the Uchiha capital, it shouldn't be too large an order.

Sasuke inhaled deeply before exhaling sharply into the whistle. A shrill screeching echoed around them, scaring off dozens of birds in nearby trees. Tucking the whistle back into his pack, he pulled out a scroll and chucked it at Naruto. "Start writing."

Although normally one to pick a petty argument over Sasuke's bossiness, Naruto merely nodded and set to work scribbling down an urgent aid message. Mimicking his behavior, Sasuke took out another blank scroll and wrote out at brief but clear order for reinforcements to be set to the outer lying Uchiha Kingdom villages. It frustrated him as a ruler to be unable to defeat enemies of the kingdom or even protect his people; however, Sasuke acknowledged the sheer pig-headedness of trying to save each village one by one.

No one would be saved and worse yet, the true culprits would probably be further along in whatever plans they held for Haruno Sakura and the valuable knowledge she must be safe guarding. Sasuke hardly held delusions that a criminal organization was hunting her down for any physical gratification. Therefore, the only thing they could want was information or abilities she coveted that no one else possessed.

Despite being short with Naruto previously, Sasuke was far from dismissing the case of Haruno Sakura. She was tangled up at the core of this entire debacle which had brought down the wrath of three kingdoms. Sasuke could scarcely imagine what sort of woman all of them were hunting.

Perhaps… _perhaps_ Naruto's idea would prove to be the greatest annoyance of Sasuke's life.

X

The sun was setting as they finally returned to the small village. Garuda, though powerful and swift, had taken quite a while to arrive. From there, the roundabout path back to the village had been much lengthier than either man imagined.

Naruto was grumbling loudly as the chief's hut came into view, whining about anything and everything. It was clear that much of his ramblings were merely intended to fill the heavy silence, and for that, Sasuke was somewhat glad to have his friend's voice fill in as white noise. He had a hundred scenarios running through his mind, each one leading to different but equally disconcerting logical conclusions.

"Oi, teme, are you listening?" Naruto complained.

"No."

The blonde yelped indignantly, getting ready to rant about Sasuke being a jerk. However, before he could, the chief pulled his door open, old eyes shaking with a mixture of awe and disbelief. "What happened?" Naruto demanded immediately, blue eyes hardening.

"He…He's dead."

Sasuke halted a few feet away from the confused elderly man. "Who?"

The chief shook his head, waving them into his home. "A few hours ago, one of our young men returned from fishing by the river on the outskirts of the village. He rarely comes to visit me, but today he showed up with a large cart behind him that was covered with cloth." The moment the door shut behind them, Sasuke and Naruto zeroed in on the apparent corpse on the floor of the chief's small living quarters.

Kneeling down beside the corpse, the chief tugged aside the large sheet covering the body. Naruto flinched minutely, but disgust was replaced by surprise. The chief noted their reactions grimly. "This is the…person that has been paying us visits and threats. However, I'm no longer sure what to think."

Sasuke's lips pressed into a thin line. The corpse was perfectly proportional to an adult human male and dressed in an ankle length black cloak. Large red clouds were stitched into the heavy fabric. Upon closer inspection though, the exposed flesh of both hands and face were artificial. His eyes flickered to red and immediately he was met with the sight of an intricate chakra network animating the corpse…puppet. Puppet was a far more appropriate word. However, the creation still perplexed him.

Chakra was manipulated in only a few ways in their world. It was used primarily to enhance human physical capabilities. Most commonly, warriors learned to channel chakra to strike harder, run faster, and fall lighter. Among medical personnel, chakra could be used to repair chakra networks, physical wounds, and damaged bodily organs—though in reality there were a select few who could do such complex chakra manipulation. Lastly, chakra was frequently utilized in entertainment. As a child, Sasuke had attended enough acrobat, magic, and puppeteer shows to know how creatively chakra could be manipulated.

But, animating a human sized puppet from a distance seemed utterly impossible. Sasuke found himself circling back to the same question plaguing him since their burned down the outpost. Just _who_ was capable of doing these things? Furthermore, if they were so strong, what was their goal? With that much power, what could they be seeking?

"Sasuke."

He glanced up at Naruto. "Ah." It was easier these days to communicate with a single look. They used to have a much harder time understanding one another, but at some point, it had become…better. Sasuke hardly recalled why though. It seemed as if it just happened over night. A flash of pink and light and laughter struck him blind. Jerking back reflexively, Sasuke touched his head gingerly, wincing at the force of—what? A _feeling_? He frowned.

The blonde blinked in confusion, warily eyeing Sasuke's behavior for a second. Whatever had suddenly possessed the guy was none of Naruto's business. Or at least, he didn't want to know. It looked like Sasuke didn't much enjoy that sudden full body stagger either. Slowly, Naruto turned back to the chief. "We encountered a similar creation at the Uchiha outpost a few miles down the road. Although we destroyed it, we thought there might be someone controlling it." Peering at the useless puppet on the floor, he shook his head. "I guess your tormenter was also a puppet."

"I just don't understand any of this," the chief confessed tiredly, looking greatly aged at the finding. The wrinkles of his face seemed deeper and darker in the fading sunlight. Turning to Sasuke, he steeled his expression as best he could, but the twinkle of fear in his eyes lingered. "Please, Uchiha Sasuke-sama, I beg you to unravel this problem. I do not wish for another one of these abominations to come for us." He sighed softly, lips trembling. "If everything is as you both say, then I am afraid there must be a human mastermind somewhere lying in wait."

Sasuke knelt beside the puppet and swiftly pulled a knife loose from his thigh holster. Slicing the cloak open, he came eye to eye with a barrel-like chest made of wood. Prying the chest plate open, he peered inside to find nothing but wires and the fading glow of chakra. "I said so before," Sasuke began, looking up at the chief, "they will not bother you again."

With a harsh yank, he tore the innards out of the puppet, prioritizing the deactivation of whatever made the puppet move over preserving the intricate design. Besides, he could replicate the entire system flawlessly with ink and paper. The only thing that mattered was getting this specimen back to the Uchiha capital.

Little was uttered afterward. Naruto asked for directions to the village inn, and then they were departing from the chief's hut with the remnants of the puppet in tow. Sasuke slung the clacking creation over a shoulder as they trudged through the now darkened streets.

The room was small with two cots on opposite walls with a modest night stand in the middle. A single window streamed moonlight into the otherwise shadowed space. They had agreed to leave the puppet corpse in the closet out of well-founded wariness and also because of Naruto's fervent claim that "puppets and children will fuck you up in your sleep."

Sasuke chose not to pursue that particular line of stupidity.

It wasn't until they were both lying down for bed that Naruto found the nerve to ask what had been bothering him. Sasuke had not expected the question as he finally closed his eyes in hopes of meditating. Sleep was dangerous and the Uchiha had no intention of falling into a defenseless slumber with only Naruto to watch his back. That sounded like a recipe for disaster considering how deeply the blonde could sleep.

"Earlier…you were acting weird. Did something happen?" Naruto wasn't looking his way, eyes focused on the ceiling where a wooden fan lazily circulated air in the room.

"Hn. When?"

"In the chief's hut. You were holding your head. Did you overexert your eyes?"

Sasuke scoffed. "I barely used them. I'm not weak like you, usuratonkachi."

"Hey! I'm just watching out for your dumb ass," Naruto snapped back. "The least you could do is appreciate my concern. With that attitude, no one is ever gonna like you." His voice wavered on the final insult. Sasuke considered remarking on it, but then thought better of it. Knowing the blonde, he would launch into a tirade about something or other. Perhaps lay on more insults.

Rolling onto his side to face the wall, Sasuke tugged his blanket higher. "Go to bed already."

Naruto seemed to still have something to say, but then, uncharacteristically, he dropped it. That should've been Sasuke's first hint that something was definitely wrong with this interaction. However, after the day they had just endured, he had no intention of adding more problems to his plate. If Naruto wanted to mull over whatever was bothering him, he was free to do so.


	8. Sabaku no Gaara's Decree

**A/N: Thanks for reading everyone! Enjoy the new chapter.**

* * *

 _August 2_

Sakura had spent much of her young life contemplating regret and loss and love. There were few things she had valued more than bonds since the age of 12. In fact, there were few bonds she held in great regard since that time.

Naruto. Tsunade. Ino. …And him. Always him.

Among her sacrifices, this latest one shouldn't have been causing her such grief. And yet, she found herself staring into the lake wistfully. The smattering of scars forming beneath her bandages were not the problem. The deep bruising bags beneath her eyes also weren't an issue. What struck her into mourning now were the deep ebony strands hanging in stringy clumps around her face.

It had been a last ditch effort. If they couldn't hide in seclusion, they would hide in plain sight. After roughly a week of cowering in the brush waiting for their explosive pursuer to find them, Sakura had made the executive decision to change tactics. Gaara was succumbing quickly to illness from overstressing his still wounded body, and Sakura only had enough chakra to heal one of them of their wounds. Even with the treatments though, Gaara was nowhere near battle ready. In short, they were still facing deadly odds.

The only success thus far that she felt confident in claiming was that they held on tightly to the safe and the contents inside.

"Was it important?"

Sakura blinked, seeing Gaara reflected in the lake. He had come up beside her, arms crossed and expression as impassive as ever. Laughing a little, she turned away from her reflection to look at him directly. "The hair? It's just dye. It'll fade eventually, but hopefully not before we come up with a better strategy."

He nodded shortly, still appearing somewhat paler than usual. _We'll need another treatment session soon._ Gaara unfolded his arms and rolled back his long sleeves. "It's time to wash it out."

"I can do this part," Sakura waved her hand, "It's already enough that I've had a king treat my hair for me. The dying part was the hardest. Thank you for the help."

The look he gave her was part unsettling, and part amusing. His jaw was set stubbornly, eyes narrowing faintly. "You have done more for me than most will ever know. Let me return the favors where I can."

Reluctantly, Sakura lowered her arms. "Alright. Go ahead."

Gaara carefully guided her head toward the lake, rinsing out the strands with tentative movements. Little by little, he lowered her hair further into the water. When they reached the scalp, he stopped. "Hold your breath."

Inhaling deeply, Sakura shut her eyes and dunked, feeling his callused fingers threading through the locks. He combed quickly and efficiently, untangling and rinsing simultaneously. She couldn't help herself from laughing at the seriousness with which Gaara was taking the task. Bubbles burst from her mouth, and suddenly she felt herself being jerked out of the water, gasping sharply.

"Are you alright?" Gaara was holding the back of her neck steadily, expression bright with alarm.

Sakura burst out laughing again and received a scowl in return. "I-I'm sorry, Your Highness. It was just so funny how seriously you were rinsing out the dye. It's not life or death," she teased.

His frown deepened. Gaara only gave her a second's warning before he was dunking her head back under water and scrubbing at her hair much harder this time. Sakura smiled, shoulders shaking with amusement.

When she rose back up, Gaara was fetching a small hand towel from Sakura's pack. "Thank you," she grinned, using the towel to pat at her face while continuing to wring out the short black tresses. "You must be spending too much time with Naruto, huh?"

"Is that something Naruto would have done?" Gaara tilted his head softly, a small smile gracing his lips.

"Dunking me underwater for teasing him? Definitely," Sakura chuckled. Standing up, she returned the hand towel to her pack and grabbed the waiting cloak. "At least now we'll be able to enter towns again." The pink hair had been a dead giveaway too many times. She refused to let it put them in any further danger—though Sakura had to admit it took her far too long to come up with the courage to rid herself of it.

Most things had changed since she was 12. Nearly everything. But the pink hair, as silly as it sounded her own ears, was the only constant. It had been with her since birth. It was there when _he_ was here. And she had finally forsaken it. The last shred of their past.

She smiled mirthlessly. _My past. It's no longer ours to share._

"Which lands?" Gaara inquired, preparing himself for travel. He moved gracefully, revealing his rank with the simplest of gestures. Even with the nearly lethal wounds still healing in his abdomen, he held himself with more pride and confidence than the healthiest individual.

Sakura was silent for a moment, considering their options. It would be far too risky to enter Leaf or Desert territory. Whoever was after them had made it clear that they were able to infiltrate the highest ranks. That left the Uchiha Kingdom's capital, but the risk were equally high for a different reason. Sakura couldn't allow herself anywhere near Uchiha lands.

That left the minor territories.

"Have you ever been to the Land of Tea?" Sakura flicked her hood up.

"…No." Gaara sounded more curious than anything else, appearing almost intrigued by a land of tea. "Do they…specialize in brewing tea leaves?"

Sakura's smile was equal parts warm and amused. "I've heard good things about their tea. Particularly their medicinal teas may help with your lingering pain. Would you be interested in travelling that way?"

He nodded softly. There was a strange look in his eyes that Sakura couldn't pin. It appeared nearly…hopeful. Excited—if she were being optimistic. Gaara wasn't great at expressing his emotions, but in that moment Sakura wondered if perhaps the king found some _joy_ in traveling the lands of the world. It must've been difficult to be a ruler and unable to move beyond the confines of your duties. Even if he sought out travel, the trips would undoubtedly become diplomatic.

Although their circumstances were far from ideal, and the mess they left behind in the Desert Kingdom must be burdening those tired shoulders—Sakura hoped that Gaara was finding some happiness in their adventure. Any amount of pleasure was worth protecting right now.

XXX

 _September 10_

The caravan was unfortunately packed full of merchant goods, many of which smelled as if they were on the edge of rotting. Sasuke tugged the high collar of his cloak up, burrowing away from the wretched stench and blistering sand that sneaked its way through the panels of canvas. After the first night in the desert, he had taken to wearing a band of cloth around his head to ward off both sun and endless sand that tangled his thick hair.

Naruto, the idiot, had somehow thrived in the desert. It was probably because he frequented the Desert Kingdom so often. Things like deadly scorpions, mottled sand in his hair, and burning skin meant nothing. Sasuke, on the other hand, had rarely left the combined territories of the Uchiha and Leaf.

The small village had been their last stop before hitching a ride across the desert. Sasuke's men had arrived promptly at dawn the following morning and he had handed off the puppet body with orders to analyze it immediately. Shisui was to personally take care of correspondence via Garuda when they figured out the mechanisms of the puppet.

From there, it was only a matter of chatting with the village chief once more to gather any information on places Haruno Sakura frequently visited for medical purposes. Sasuke had listened intently, making sure his men jotted down locations of villages and details on the menacing man who had previously harassed the chief's people. Although the man had turned out to be a puppet, Sasuke could hardly overlook the distinctive cloak. It was familiar, yet not. Almost like a legend come to life. It tugged at his mind, but would not surface.

"Teme," Naruto wailed, sprawled out on the cramped floor of the caravan. "Aren't you hot in all those layers? You know, sun is good for you, especially when you're that pale. When was the last time you spent significant amounts of time outdoors? Like aside from sparring for a few hours each day? You're like a bat in a cave."

Sasuke snapped his wrist, a lethal dagger pinning one corner of Naruto's shirt to the wooden floor. "What do you want?"

"There was no need for that!" Naruto barked, tugging the weapon loose and tossing it aside. He sat up, crossing his legs. "You've been brooding a lot more than usual. Is that puppet thing still scaring you? I totally understand if it is—"

"That's not it."

"Then what?"

Sasuke scowled, turning away. The desert was not sitting right with him. That was definitely a problem. More than that, he couldn't shake off that emotion which blindsided him days ago. _Pink…light…laughter…warmth._ That feeling was almost painfully far away. He had no idea where it even came from. Usually memories and feelings were attached to one another, but Sasuke couldn't grasp the memory no matter how he twisted and turned the hallways of his mind. It was empty. Evaporated. Gone.

And that was what had soured his mood more than anything else.

He was proud of his Uchiha eyes. He was even prouder of his intellect. Within intellect, he held himself to the highest standard of memory recall. So why… _why_ did this memory elude him?

"Haruno Sakura…," Sasuke began.

"Eh, actually, I'm Naruto."

Sasuke felt a vein pop in his jaw. He reached for his chokuto, clearly not in the mood for stupid jokes. Naruto just laughed, holding his hands up in surrender. "Calm down, teme!" A glint of mischief danced through his eyes, whiskered cheeks stretching with a seedy grin. "I've been waiting for this. Are you finally interested in Sakura-chan?"

"Not…interested, exactly," he muttered, still clutching his weapon tightly as he dared Naruto to make another dumb comment.

Clearly, the blond had learned his lesson because he kept quiet, only nodding in that infuriatingly arrogant way. He clearly knew way more than Sasuke and he was all too happy to lord that knowledge over his best friend. "I'll answer what I can," Naruto offered, though his tone was mocking.

"Hn." Sasuke nearly backed out of the conversation, but curiosity was getting the better of his pride.

"Aw, c'mon, teme. I know you wanna know. Just ask!"

Sasuke took a deep breath, shoulder rising and falling slowly. "Her hair is pink."

"Yup."

"She knew us as children."

"Up until the age of twelve." Naruto confirmed with a nod.

 _That long?_ Sasuke pursed his lips. It seemed even less likely for him to forget someone who knew him into the early years of adolescence. He could still clearly recall much of his 12th year, but she was nowhere to be found in those memories.

Naruto watched Sasuke with a cheeky grin on his face. Despite his outward playfulness though, he sat tensely, spine ramrod straight. It was fun to tease his friend. But anything more than that would be troublesome. Naruto knew he was toeing a dangerous line, but at the same time…he ground his teeth subtly. … _This sucks._

"When…did she apprentice to Tsunade?" Sasuke finally asked, looking exasperated.

"Thirteen?" Naruto's eyes narrowed in thought. "Yeah…I think thirteen. It was only a little while after we left school."

Sasuke nodded slowly, the next question tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop it. "Why do we no longer visit each other?" Immediately, Sasuke regretted the slip.

Naruto was practically glowing. It was not a good look on him, in Sasuke's very earnest opinion. The blond launched himself to his feet. " _Oh I knew you'd love her!_ So you're that type, huh, teme? Childhood sweetheart stories probably make your cold Uchiha heart flutter _—_!" Naruto dodged a side swipe from the sheathed chokuto. "Don't worry! You and Sakura-chan were never sweethearts or nothin'. I wouldn't have let her be with a bastard like you," he trilled, jumping out of the way as Sasuke whipped another dagger at him.

This one tore through the canvas covering the caravan, leaving yet another hole for sand to come in through. Sasuke sighed. He should've known this was coming. "I'm being serious, you idiot. Answer me."

Naruto chortled. "If you call me Uzumaki Naruto-sama, maybe I'll grace you with an answer." He grinned down at Sasuke, completely immune to the promise of death reflected in those red irises. "Glaring won't get you any favors, teme."

"Whatever. I don't care." Sasuke shoved the blond away.

"Heh…I think you actually care a lot," Naruto taunted. When Sasuke refused to take the bait, the blond raised one finger, wagging it back and forth. "Fine, fine. The Great Uzumaki Naruto will grant you a favor. I'll tell you something else that's interesting about Sakura-chan." Leaning in conspiratorially, he opened his mouth—and the caravan jerked to an abrupt halt.

Naruto tumbled head first into the merchandise, groaning. Sasuke climbed out, shielding his face from the sun as he rounded to the front of the vehicle. Tilting his head back, he laid eyes on the massive fortress walls of the Desert Kingdom. The merchant was a few paces away, chatting with a guard who was checking over his paperwork.

"We're here?" Naruto came up beside him, stretching and yawning before returning to rubbing the sore spot on his head. "Jeez. That merchant could've been a little gentler when he stopped."

From a quick survey of the walls, Sasuke could already sense very familiar chakra. Blinking once, he dispelled the illusion. Multiple fissures ran down the face of the fortress. They were slowly being repaired from what Sasuke could tell. It was perfectly reasonable for them to hide any weaknesses as well. But the question remained: who attacked them?

There hadn't been any recent reports about the Desert Kingdom being attacked. Even without being ally nations, it was common practice to keep tabs on the on-goings of all major powers. Furthermore, Naruto had the biggest mouth and he wouldn't shut up most days about his friends. With the Desert Kingdom's ruler being one of those friends, it was impossible _not_ to hear about the state of their territory.

So when had this happened? Sasuke warily turned back to see the guard beginning to argue with the merchant. Walking toward them, he caught bits of their argument and only grew increasingly disconcerted.

"—like I _said_ , your paperwork doesn't allow you to bring in foreigners. We can take you and your supplies, but those two passengers of yours cannot enter," the guard stated firmly.

"That's ridiculous!" the merchant snapped. "I've brought in other people using this exact same entry form. When did the rules change? I was here only a few months ago."

The guard glowered, shoving the papers back at their ride. "As of May this year, every person entering the capital must have their own paperwork."

Naruto was in the guard's face suddenly, blue eyes fiercely glaring. "I'm Gaara's personal friend. I have an unlimited pass into the kingdom. In fact, you should recognize me on sight."

Before Naruto could flash any royal emblems, Sasuke grabbed his wrist, giving him a stern look. They weren't supposed to be flaunting their statuses. What was stranger though was the guard's reluctance to acknowledge Naruto. He would surely have recognized the crown prince of their largest ally. This entire argument should've been over the second Naruto exited the caravan.

"F-Forgive me, Uzumaki-sama," the guard reluctantly bit out, lowering his head once in apology, "But these orders come directly from Sabaku no Gaara-sama." Fumbling with his uniform, he removed a scroll, handing it over for Naruto to inspect. "That's his official seal as well."

Sasuke read over the decree quickly, eyes widening at the truth of the matter.

 _Tenth of May in the Year XXXX_

 _Henceforth, all non-civilians requesting entrance into the capital will be denied access unless they have obtained and presented the appropriate visa documents. No exceptions are to be made to this mandate._

 _Further, all diplomatic visits must be made by appointment four weeks in advance. Any unscheduled visits from foreign dignitaries are subject to the aforementioned entry refusal protocol. No exceptions are to be made to this mandate._

 _Sabaku no Gaara, 5_ _th_ _Ruler of the Desert Kingdom_

Tan hands shook the paper. Glancing over at his friend, Sasuke noted with growing unease that Naruto was, in a word, furious. Throwing the scroll aside, he cut his gaze back to the nervous guard. "You're telling me that one of my _best_ friends has officially _decreed_ that I'm not allowed to visit him at my leisure? You've gotta be an idiot to think that Gaara would refuse seeing me."

Sasuke caught the unspoken accusation. _Gaara would never order something like this._

"I apologize again, Uzumaki-sama," the guard bowed low. "Allow me to call for a messenger to deliver your personal complaints to Sabaku no Gaara-sama." Straightening up, the man shuffled through the guard gate, disappearing for only a few minutes.

During that time though, Sasuke nudged Naruto. "We need to get inside."

"I know," he growled back. "Something happened to Gaara. No doubt."

The guard returned with a palace messenger in tow. Bowing gracefully, the messenger held out a scroll and brush for Naruto. "Please, Your Highness, write to your heart's content and I will ensure our king receives it as soon as possible. It may take several hours to a few days before you receive a reply, though. Sabaku no Gaara-sama has been extremely busy for the past weeks and has little time for personal correspondence anymore."

The blond impressively bit his tongue and silently scribbled out his complaints on the scroll, knowing full well that they would probably never be heard. He signed it with a flourish, handing the open scroll back to the smiling messenger. "Tell Gaara that if he doesn't give me a good reply in 24 hours, I'm breaking into the capital."

Sasuke caught the nearly imperceptible twitch of the messenger's lips into a frown. Of course it was upsetting to hear someone violently declare their intent to infiltrate your home. Sasuke couldn't fault the man for being irritated. At the same time, he knew Naruto wasn't delivering an empty threat.

They turned away from the gate. Sasuke caught the merchant's eye. The latter looked absolutely floored as he shuffled toward them. "I'm sorry. I thought they wouldn't throw up a fuss…especially considering Uzumaki-sama was one of my passengers."

"It's fine." Sasuke brushed aside the apologies. "Where is a secure place to camp for the night?"

"There's a small settlement just a mile or two west of the capital. If you'd like, I can take you two over there first," the merchant offered.

Naruto butted in then, still nearly growling with anger. "We'll walk. I need to let loose some energy." With that, he bounded off through the sand, practically flying.

Sasuke sighed. Pulling out a small sack of coins, he passed it to the merchant. "For your trouble." With that, he sped after Naruto, ignoring the slight burning of the hot sand as grains slid between his feet and sandals.

A long minute passed before Sasuke caught up, swinging one leg out and catching the blond's ankle. They were already far out of sight, the blistering desert washing away their tracks. Blue eyes shot wide open and he cried out as he flew head over heels, tumbling through mountains of sand before skidding to a halt several feet away. Sasuke stared him down flatly. "Cool your head, dobe."

"You saw how they were behaving!" Naruto shouted, dusting himself off indignantly.

"Hn."

The blond ran at Sasuke, brandishing a short knife. He parried the blow with his sword's scabbard, shoving Naruto backwards. Landing lighter this time, he glared hard at the Uchiha, running at him once more, striking harder. "Why are you being so damn _calm_? This could be an international disaster, you know that?" he hissed.

"That's why we need to be calm," Sasuke huffed, irritated as he met his friend blow for blow. "There's no chance Sabaku no Gaara is behind this, right?"

"Not in a million years."

Sasuke grunted as Naruto managed to land an elbow to his gut. Using the close proximity to his advantage, Sasuke caught the other man's forearm, twisting it behind his back. "Then whether or not that messenger actually delivers your message, we're getting inside tonight." Sasuke slammed the sole of his foot into Naruto's back, sending him careening back across the desert. The Uchiha tugged his cloak back into place, beginning to walk toward the settlement again.

Naruto blinked, rubbing his lower back as he sat in the sand. "We are?"

"There's no time to be lost on blind faith," Sasuke retorted tersely. "Let's go already."

"Sheesh teme, I knew you were a softie—!" Naruto ducked out of the way, warily eyeing the dagger now embedded in the sand. "…you're getting real loose with your weapons, you know that?" He dug the blade out though, carrying it with him as he approached Sasuke.

"If you'd shut up, I'd have less reason to use them," Sasuke ground out, snatching the dagger offered back to him.

Naruto just laughed though, unperturbed. His expression sobered quickly as he recalled their plans. "…So infiltration is a go at midnight?"

"Aa."


	9. Report: May 7, 10:23 PM

**A/N: Enjoy!**

* * *

Scaling the fortress walls with just their chakra and some rope was probably the worst plan Sasuke had ever let Naruto convince him into following. He had hoped the idiot knew of a secret passage into the capital, but clearly that was being optimistic. However, Naruto had been so self-assured when he launched the grappling hook some hundred feet in the air and successfully latched onto the top of the wall. Sasuke had _almost_ been impressed.

And then the climbing had commenced. Naruto first. Him second. Not only was the desert wind at night _frigid_ though, it was _ruthless_. They had barely made it 30 feet when things went awry. Sasuke winced as pebbles of sand momentarily blinded him and he released one hand's grip on the thick rope to wipe it away.

"— _teme!_ "

Sasuke blinked slowly, squinting above him to see a large mass of Naruto tumbling straight for him. He snatched the blond by his cloak as he flew past, jerking under the combined weight.

Naruto choked, tugging feebly at the collar of the cloak which dared to cut off his wind pipe. His feet were kicking about, normally raucous voice sounding small and strained.

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke tried to steady his grip, hissing at Naruto to stop moving. _Click…_ The rope lost all tension and then they were plummeting to the sand dunes. Sasuke cursed, the ground too close and the fall too fast. Bracing himself, he pulled the cloak out of the way and landed feet first, dive rolling to absorb some of the impact. Sasuke spun around, seeing the glint of a metal claw attached to a rope fall into a heap.

"Ugh…," Naruto groaned, having landed several feet away in a heap of his own. The cloth he wrapped about his head had fallen to the wayside, revealing bright golden locks.

Sasuke snatched him up by the collar, glaring daggers. "We are _not_ trying that again." And then he dumped him back on the ground. "Where is the gate?"

"What? You're just gonna _waltz_ in there like you own the place?" Naruto demanded, rubbing his aching joints.

"How many night guards are stationed at the main gate?"

The blond frowned with thought. "Uh…I think just one or two. No one is crazy enough to traverse the desert at night."

"Hn. Great." Sasuke started for the gate, not checking to see if Naruto was following. After a moment, he heard the shuffling of sand and then they were trudging side by side through the sandstorm.

"By 'great' do you mean it'll be easier to kill them?" Naruto asked hesitantly, obviously horrified at the possibility.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, not dignifying the question with a response. It took nearly ten minutes to circle around to the main gate and in that time, Naruto kept throwing side glances at him as if he were mapping out how and where to strike the Uchiha to incapacitate him. No matter. He would see soon enough.

As predicted, there were only two guards on duty. Sasuke bolted, speed lessened by the terrain but nowhere near too slow for his intent. In a flash, he was behind the first guard, striking him swiftly at the neck. The man crumpled. The second guard had a bit more time to react, but even he wasn't prepared for Sasuke's sharp knee to the gut.

Naruto whistled behind him, looking impressed. "Well, I'm glad you didn't kill them."

"They wouldn't be worth it."

"…you sure got a lot of bloodlust for a sheltered king," the blond remarked uneasily. "I think this is the first time I've actually seen you out in the world doing non-diplomatic things."

"Isn't this considered diplomatic," Sasuke muttered, hauling one of the guards up to get a good look at his uniform. His eyes flickered to red and then he was casting an illusion around him and Naruto. Stepping away from the guard, he gave his friend a once over, ensuring there were no obvious mistakes in the casting. "If we move quickly, no one should ask us questions."

Naruto glanced down at himself, seeing the sleeves of the guard's uniform. "Your eyes can do this much? It's sorta taboo to ask questions, so I've never really known the extent of the _Sharingan_." He followed after Sasuke who was entering via the guard gate. "Can you do any other neat tricks? Ever thought of joining the circus, teme?"

Sasuke ignored him. "Which way to his office?"

Empty streets stretched out before them, but were mostly obscured by the storm. Even with those massive walls, it was impossible to avoid the sand typhoons. Naruto peered around, trying to figure out which way was north, south, east, and west. Slowly, he did a circle while craning his neck. After a moment, he stopped, pointing up at dome shaped building. "There. It looks like the lights are out though, so Gaara is probably asleep."

"I doubt it." The Uchiha set off at a silent run, the only sign of his movements being the stirred sand.

Naruto appeared next to him, gaining speed as he took the lead. "There's a back entrance into his office building. I'm sure of that."

"Tch. Finally."

"Hey! I don't see you being very helpful with the particular details. All you've done is fail to catch me and beat up some guards."

"If you didn't _fall_ like an idiot, no one would have to catch you," Sasuke retorted.

"The rope slipped!"

"It was a dumb plan anyway."

"It was _brilliant_ , excuse you." Naruto huffed, giving him a sidelong glare.

Sasuke scoffed.

Before Naruto could pick a fight though, they were nearly upon the building. Veering off course, he led them down a side alley, taking sharp turns with confidence. Sasuke was still wary though, knowing full well that Naruto's confidence was easily won. Case in point: scaling the fortress wall.

They came upon a single wooden door set into an otherwise non-descript stone wall. It was perhaps the fifth or sixth narrow alley they had run through. Naruto pressed his palm against the rough surface, channeling a small amount of chakra into the material. It clicked and then creaked open. "Only a select few can use this door," Naruto explained, pulling it open. "Gaara designed it to read chakra signatures, so the ones that he personally registered are the only ones accessing it."

As Naruto spoke, Sasuke's gaze drifted down to the door which now lay open. The shadows of the night made it hard to decipher, but he could've sworn there was something strange about the wood. Stepping closer, Sasuke's eyes widened. "Who can use this door? Specifically."

"Uh…Gaara, obviously. His two siblings. I think that's it." Naruto was struggling with a match he had pulled from his pack, trying to get a flame going for the singular torch set into the wall.

"Do you keep correspondence with either of them?" Sasuke demanded.

"I get the occasional update from his older brother, but his sister doesn't even live here anymore. She married one of my advisors, so she emigrated to our kingdom. Anyway, for the most part, I don't know how they're doing. Why—oh." Naruto had finally leaned over, holding a slowly burning torch up to the wood. Thick smatterings of blood crisscrossed the interior of the door, dripping down to pool on the dirt passageway. It was dark and dry already—just the scars left from an old fight. These scars ran further into the dark tunnel, lighter in some parts and heavier in other from what little Sasuke could see within the breadth of the torch light. "Teme…you don't think…"

"I don't know," Sasuke cut him off. It was dangerous to go down the road of 'what ifs'. He would rather just get to the bottom of this based on tangible evidence. "Let's go. This blood is old."

Gulping, Naruto led the way, careful to avoid the larger patches of blood. The torch light was able to illuminate most of the tunnel as they moved deeper inside, but nothing that they saw was comforting. Smeared handprints and bloody footprints made the entire trip increasingly disconcerting. The silence of the cramped space made it even worse. "This couldn't have been a single person," Naruto finally blurted, saying exactly what both of them were thinking. "With this amount, there had to be at least two…maybe three."

Sasuke nodded his agreement. They neared the end of the tunnel, seeing an identical wooden door. The smatterings of blood were just as heavy here. He wondered if the rest of the building would look comparably horrific. Naruto pushed the door open, chakra pulsing through the frame again.

 _So it must be unlocked from both sides._ Sasuke treaded carefully, unsheathing his chokuto as they entered a dark storage room. The torch remained with Naruto, feasibly for both light and defense. Shouldering a heavy metal door open, the blond stepped out first, waving the torch back and forth a few times. Sasuke rolled his eyes. "The only one who'll get hurt with that swinging is you, usuratonkachi."

Naruto muttered a dark curse, but lowered his tense shoulders and steadied his grip on the torch. "Okay, we just have to go up two floors and Gaara's office is at the top."

The building was far too quiet for either of their tastes. Sasuke logically understood that it was late at night—early in the morning, to some, but the facility's silence was almost eerie. Perhaps it was due to walking through a blood splattered tunnel that he was now on even higher alert. Whatever had happened in there was nothing to laugh about. He ventured a guess that one of those two or three people didn't come out alive—but again, he didn't want to fall into hypotheticals. It would only make him more anxious.

They stopped before a pair of large wooden doors on the top floor. The seal of the Desert Kingdom stared back them almost mockingly. Sasuke noted with some interest that no night guards were present in the building. Normally, he assumed that such administrative buildings had at least a few guards on shift at all hours of the day in case of robbery or vandalism.

It seemed careless for one of the greatest kingdoms in the world to be so arrogant. Further, he had met Sabaku no Gaara on a few occasions while attending peace conferences in the Leaf. The man was surely confident in his abilities and had the right to be. He had a rare chakra manipulation ability that had earned him the title of king at such a young age. Only a handful of people in the world could manipulate earthly elements, and Sabaku no Gaara, as his name suggested, could do wonders with sand. However, at the same time, he was an analytical fellow and that meant having an acute awareness of danger.

This building was unprotected and full of important documents. _Why is it empty?_

With a firm shove, Naruto pushed the door open. _Click…_ Sasuke yanked Naruto aside just as a series of _senbon_ flew at them, piercing the opposing wall. They leaned back against the unopened door, holding their breaths. The illusion cast over their bodies crackled away with Sasuke's loss of focus.

"Traps?" Sasuke hissed, forgetting about the disguises now that there seemed to be more pressing matters, such as an actively hostile environment.

"He's never had those before!" Naruto hissed back. "Why would he need them? He's got that creepy ultimate defense sand thing."

"Hn." _So he's got some defenses._ Hiking his sword out of its sheath, Sasuke held it horizontally, pressing the tip of the blade against the ajar door. It creaked open slowly— _click…click…click…_ With each click, another set of _senbon_ came hurling out of the room, embedding themselves into the now cracking stone wall or falling to the floor where they struck the blade.

Once the door had been pushed to its limits, Sasuke tucked his sword away. "Go look."

"What? Why me?" Naruto shot back, glaring.

"I took care of the traps."

"That was easy!"

Sasuke smirked. "What? You scared?"

Easily provoked as always, the blond puffed out his chest, holding the torch higher. "Of course not!" Without any further hesitation, Naruto took a step into the room but then immediately stepped back out with wide eyes. "Uh…teme, I don't think we can get in."

Frowning, Sasuke walked to the open doorway, eyes fluttering in surprise. "Hn." Glimmering wire crisscrossed the room almost as intricately as a spider's nest. There was hardly room to even attempt to crawl beneath them. Glancing to the ends of the wires, he noted with displeasure that each one was looped through an explosive's pin. Cutting through all of these would mean immediate death and the destruction of the entire administrative building.

What they could see from the open doorway though was a hunched figure sitting at the desk. Sasuke would bet his left arm that that was not Sabaku no Gaara. Activating his _Sharingan_ , he verified his guess, seeing a familiarly complex system of chakra running through the huddled body. "A puppet."

Naruto glanced at him grimly. "Then it's true. Gaara is—"

"—missing. And it sounds like neither of you know where he is either."

They jumped away from the doorway, whirling around to see a man coming toward them. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, unable to sense any chakra from the stranger. Before he could draw his weapon though, Naruto was stepping forward, eyes wide. "Kankuro? Is that you?"

 _Kankuro? The king's brother?_ Sasuke steadied his hand on the hilt of his sword, not ready to trust even a supposedly familiar face.

The man came near enough for the torch to cast light over him. Familiar purple face paint and a black head piece came into view. He held his robes open though, revealing a vest made of chakra-infused explosives. "I promise you. I'm as much a victim as my little brother," he spoke slowly, carefully, eyes searching Naruto's face for some semblance of trust. "You're the first faces I've seen since...well, since that night."

"What happened?" Naruto demanded, fist tightening around the torch.

Kankuro tensed. "I…we can't talk here. I still have my quarters in this building. Please come with me."

"We're not going anywhere." Sasuke stated flatly, gripping his blade tighter now.

The man gritted his teeth. "Please. At least let's move away from this office. There are eyes everywhere." His voice had fallen to a low whisper, eyes darting back and forth. "Just because the building is empty doesn't mean they aren't monitoring."

Naruto turned to Sasuke, giving him a careful nod. "He's our only lead. Even if it's a trap, it's an easier trap to deal with than those wires." He waved back at the office.

"…Hn." That was a fair enough point. It wasn't a great plan, but their odds hadn't been great to begin with. However, if this plan ended as horribly as Naruto's scaling the wall plan did, he swore the blond wouldn't live to tomorrow. Sasuke kept his sword in hand, shutting the office door and turning back to the pair. "Fine. Where do we go?"

Kankuro released an audible sigh and pointed down the hall. "This way. My private quarters are usually left alone at night." He walked carefully, making each move deliberate. It was clear that he didn't want Sasuke to do anything rash, and he was conversely pleased that Kankuro was taking the threat of injury seriously.

Even if the explosives strapped to his body were real, Sasuke didn't want to take any chances. They were deep in enemy territory with a mountain of questions piling up around them. Naruto was, thankfully, also holding himself with some level of wariness. They exchanged a few looks, communicating silently in preparation of a surprise attack.

However, there was no need as they reached Kankuro's rooms and entered without issue. Sasuke weighed the pros and cons of closing the door, and then decided to go with keeping it open. That left fewer possible enemies to sneak up on them or otherwise harm them. He stood in the threshold, back against the door hinge, arms crossed.

Kankuro gave him a brief look, but seemed resigned to the situation. He and Naruto stood just within the room, the torch beginning to wane in its brightness as time went on.

"Speak," Sasuke ordered coldly.

Taking a deep breath, Kankuro began, appearing just as ready to get the story out as quickly as possible: "Shortly after I recovered and stabilized, Sakura reported that she would be leaving soon. Gaara and I signed the medical release forms, as well as her medical log which she has to provide to your kingdom, Naruto. Everything was normal and then…," he choked on the words, looking shaken. "I…I don't know how exactly, but it was a few nights before Sakura was set to leave. I offered to take her out to a local restaurant since she told me it would be a while before she returned to our lands…"

X

 _May 7 — 10:23PM_

"Ah, there's really nothing quite like Desert cuisine," Sakura laughed, walking slowly beside the elder brother of the king. It was a rare night in the region where the sky was clear and the sands were calm. "I'm sure lucky that I get to see this sight before I leave," she remarked, peering up at the nearly blinding amount of stars in the sky.

Kankuro grinned. "Yeah. There are some benefits to desert life. Don't you get this kind of view in the Leaf though?"

She shook her head. "We've been industrializing recently. There's too much light pollution in the capital. When I'm travelling through the outlying villages though, I get sights almost as nice as this one." Yawning, she turned her attention back to the main road. She frowned suddenly, looking at Kankuro. "Isn't His Highness normally still up doing paperwork at this hour?"

"Yes," he admitted, also confused now at the sight of Gaara's office lights being out. "But, I'm not really complaining. He works too hard as it is. Being so young and the leader of a huge kingdom like ours is probably a bigger burden than he ever cared to have."

Sakura smiled a bit at that. "Maybe in the past…but I think Naruto worked his therapy magic on him. His Highness seems quite dedicated and pleased with his position."

"If he is, I'd be relieved as his elder brother," Kankuro remarked, chuckling softly. "Temari was really hesitant about leaving us. She almost cancelled her marriage, but Gaara told her off for being so flippant." His eyes lingered on the darkened office though, a seed of concern blooming in his chest. It was a silly gut reaction, but he couldn't deny being puzzled by his younger brother's choice to turn in early for the night. "Maybe he hasn't been resting enough…I hope he didn't leave anything out in his office."

"People can be careless when they're sleep deprived," Sakura agreed, eyeing the office with much less concern. Her gaze slid to Kankuro though, noting his apparent unease. "Would you like to go check if His Highness put everything away properly?"

Kankuro laughed. "No…no, I shouldn't be snooping through his things. I guess no matter how old he gets, I'm still worried about him. There aren't many people he trusts in this world, and recently we received some pretty important documents. I wouldn't think Gaara to be careless, but…"

"If you're going to debate this in the street for so long, we might as well just take a peek," Sakura patted his shoulder, pushing him a bit in the direction of the building. "It'll take a few minutes. It's no problem at all and certainly not something to be this bothered over."

He smiled a bit easier, beginning to walk again. "I just feel sorry that one of your last nights' here will be spent catering to my nervous habits," Kankuro joked. "You don't have to come with me. I can drop you off at your hotel first."

"It's no trouble," she rolled her eyes, picking up the pace as if to demonstrate that it really wasn't as big of a deal as he was making it out to be. "I can take a peek inside the medical lab while we're inside anyway. I left some research notes there earlier today, and forgot to file them away, so I can do that while you're checking on your brother."

Seemingly relieved, Kankuro nodded and reached for the front door, key in hand. The tumblers were already disengaged when he inserted the key though. Cold dread filled his veins. Maybe Gaara really had been careless. Not locking the administrative building? What was he thinking? Kankuro glanced back at Sakura who was waiting expectantly. He considered telling her to leave, but hesitated.

She was a combat medic. Right. Not just a young women. Slowly, Kankuro pulled the key out. "How careless," he spoke lightly, but his body had tensed significantly, "it looks like Gaara forgot to engage the locks."

Sakura's gaze immediately sharpened, green eyes growing dark with apprehension. "Oh. I see," she responded just as lightly, though her expression remained stiff.

They entered cautiously. Kankuro took one final look at the lock, grimacing when he realized it hadn't been disengaged. The mechanisms were broken. Scanning the interior, he found the lights to be on, and the guards to be stationed exactly where they were supposed to be. Neither of the guards looked up at their entrance though. Heads hung lifelessly, limbs appearing similarly limp.

Sakura was approaching them before Kankuro could utter a word. She reached out, but immediately snatched her hand back when the gleaming edge of a knife sliced her cheek. The guard moved as if controlled by—

"Get away from it!" Kankuro shouted, brandishing _senbon_ and striking at the guard. Its body jolted with each precise hit, chakra network coming to a stuttering halt and with it, the puppeteer's control.

She sat crouched across the hall, watching the remaining guard with open concern. "What happened to them?" Sakura called, keeping a dagger level with her face. Blood seeped down her cheek, running uncomfortably down the line of her neck to stain the collar of her shirt.

"They're being controlled by someone who knows how to use puppets." _Someone who knows how to manipulate them better than me._ Kankuro released another shower of _senbon_ , immobilizing the remaining guard who slumped to the ground. "This won't stop them for long. If their puppeteer removes those needles, they'll be good as new."

Sakura nodded, getting to her feet and running toward the staircase. "Then let's find His Highness quickly." She darted up the steps, Kankuro on her heels.

The doors to Gaara's darkened office were shut. When Sakura yanked on the handle, the lock refused to give. Gripping it tighter, she muttered a soft apology and snapped the door handle, shouldering it open. Kankuro burst in immediately, armed with _senbon_ in one hand, and a dagger in the other. His eyes locked immediately on the burst of sand across the room. There was something deeply wrong with the picture though.

Usually, Gaara's sand manipulation was powerful and precise, but at the moment, even in the darkness, Kankuro would see the shakiness of his control. Edges of his shield were cracking, leaving him with barely a moment to erect another wall of sand to block the relentless attacks of a cloaked figure. He launched the needles, but none struck their target. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a collapsed figure.

"Get her out of here," Gaara grunted, eyes cutting to the unconscious woman on the ground. He staggered then, his opponent managing to land a grazing blow.

Kankuro couldn't discern who exactly the woman was, but based on her clothing and presence in the office, he had to guess that it was one of the servants. There were very few and they usually only came to deliver nightly tea or snacks... _Shit!_ His eyes widened, putting pieces together in his mind and feeling hopelessly stupid.

"I'll get her!" Sakura's voice cut through Kankuro's thoughts. She was racing toward the woman, grip steady on her dagger. "Help His Highness," Sakura called back, "he's been poisoned." Her hands hovered over the collapsed figure for a moment, and then, almost apologetically, she slammed both palms down on the woman's back. Bright green chakra burst forth, stunning the person's chakra network.

"Ho…what a neat trick. I've never seen that before," the cloaked attacker praised, pausing in their attacks for a moment to eye Sakura. "What sort of medical skill is that?" His clothing had been too difficult to see in the low lighting, but from what Kankuro could tell, it was mostly black with specks of another color.

Gaara growled low in his throat, lifting his own arms to block the relentless stream of fists and kicks. His sand lay uselessly on the office floor, sparkling faintly under moonlight and the trickle of hallway light. Kankuro ran bodily between the two men, gritting his teeth at the force of the enemy's knuckles against his forearm. "Are you alright?" he looked down at Gaara who gripped the edge of his desk unsteadily.

His pale green eyes were glazed over, sweat running down from his hairline. Kankuro cursed, shoving his opponent back and looking around for any usable weaponry. Normally, he kept his puppets on his person, but it had seemed silly to arm himself on such a clear, peaceful night. Nothing had gone awry for several months. Peace treaties were being signed into practice every other week. Gaara was becoming a truly wonderful king.

The only upset as of late had been Kankuro's own illness, and he had blamed none other than himself. It was a common cold that escalated in the worst way possible. But, he had reasoned, if that was the worst of his problems, then the Desert Kingdom would be fine. Besides, their Leaf allies had some of the greatest medics. Sakura would ensure they survived into old age.

And so, Kankuro had let his guard down. He glanced over to see Sakura had thrown the servant over one shoulder and was hustling toward the door. Her short pink hair was just barely out of sight before he watched the medic dive for the ground with the servant in tow. He had no other time to check on her as his attacker came full force once more. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"Just an employee," the stranger responded, a flash of white teeth glimmering under moonlight, "gotta pay the bills somehow, y'know?"

" _Who hired you_?" Kankuro retorted.

"My employers like to be confidential," he answered lightly, sweeping a kick that connected. Kankuro stumbled to the ground, back hitting the hard floor first. "Now, I wasn't ordered to kill you, but I'll do it gladly for free." He leaned down, giving Kankuro the first decent look he had gotten of the man's face.

"No…move away," Gaara rasped, still gripping the table with all his might. His body was clearly shaking now, skin paler and greener than usual.

"You're practically dead anyway," the man sighed, peering wryly down at Gaara. "So why are you still mouthing off?" He flicked his wrist, the glint of metal appearing in his hand. Kankuro's eyes widened, and then he was struggling back to his feet. The stranger merely slammed the sole of his foot down on the writhing elder brother. "And you. You're just a nuisance."

Without further warning, he snapped his wrist—piercing Kankuro in the thigh with a slim knife. Gaara's bleary eyes tried to focus and react, but from where Kankuro now screamed on the floor, he could see that his younger brother was succumbing to the poison.

A blur of pink and red flew above him, and then bright green light illuminated the enemy's face as Sakura's fist slammed wholly into one cheek. He didn't have time to utter a sound before he crashed into the desk, toppling over the other end. Kankuro held his bleeding leg, looking up at Sakura who bore several scratches, but nothing too serious.

"There's one more out there," she reported, kneeling down beside him and tearing the bottom hem of his pants away to fashion a cloth from it. She gave him a look before grabbing the hilt of the knife and yanking it out without more warning. Kankuro stifled a shout as blood immediately gushed; however her healing hands were already closing the wound. "This won't hold for very long. It's just enough so you won't die from blood loss," Sakura explained in an even voice, binding his semi-healed wound with the scrap of cloth.

"Help me get Gaara out of here," Kankuro swallowed, slowly climbing to his feet and feeling the tug of the freshly healed wound. It definitely wasn't going to be a permanent fix. He had hoped she was able to do a little more, but considering the circumstances, he couldn't fault her for doing the bare minimum so they could move.

Sakura hauled the king onto her back, pulling his uncoordinated arms around her shoulders. "Where are we going?" Her jaw was set, eyes still sharp as ever.

At least one of them was still in working condition. Kankuro pointed out the door. "There's a metal door on the first floor. It's the only metal door in the entire building. We have to get there." He peered uneasily out into the hall again. "What are our chances of getting there?"

She slowly shook her head. "It's a long shot."

"I thought so." Kankuro knelt down, running his hand over the tile floor. "Hey, Sakura, how strong is your punch?"

She studied the floor, crouching down. "…I can get us to the second floor."

Internally, he sighed at the thought of absolutely wrecking the building, but then nodded firmly. "That's enough."

"Going somewhere?" Both of their heads snapped up to see a bruised hand gripping the desk opposite them.

Kankuro didn't wait, taking Gaara from Sakura and pulling his brother's head close to his chest. "Hurry!" he shouted. He shut his eyes as cracked tiles and stone exploded into the air and the floor crumbled beneath him. Pulling an arm up to block his face, Kankuro tried to see through the dust and debris. The roar of the shattered materials hitting the second floor hallway was the only indicator of how far off they were.

A guttural snarl tore through Gaara's throat, warm wet liquid splattering the side of Kankuro's neck. The sheen of a blade sliced through the thick dust, and his heart stilled. Gaara was writhing unconsciously, hands reaching for the sword that had gone clean through his gut. Kankuro slapped his hands away, but stumbled as his feet hit uneven ground.

"Kankuro! Your Highness!" Sakura's voice sounded close.

"Here! Quick!" he called back, eyes glued to the sword. Even with Gaara's red clothing, the blood pooling around the wound was obvious.

Sakura emerged from the wreckage, sooty but seemingly used to her own destructive energy. When she saw the king, her expression fell. "Oh no." Falling to her knees, she immediately began examining the wound, but got no further than placing a cooling, chakra-laden hand over his abdomen before the hilt of the sword began to shake.

 _A wire?_ Kankuro searched himself for a knife to sever the puppeteer's hold on the katana, but failed to find anything. He clamped a hand down on the hilt, cringing hard when Gaara let out a low groan. "Sorry," Kankuro muttered, thinking that at least it wasn't being ripped out of him.

"Hold it steady." Sakura locked eyes with the elder brother, her bare hand gripping the blade a few inches shy of the entry point.

He tightened his hold, doing his best not to let the wire tug at it anymore. Thankfully, it was only a moment, and then the sharp crack of shattering metal broke the tension. Kankuro released the hilt, watching it snap back through the settling dust. _We can't stay here any longer._

"Can you help hold him? We can't put him on either of our backs like this," Sakura admitted regretfully.

Kankuro wordlessly looped one of Gaara's arms over his shoulder, hefting him up and beginning their trudge out of the crumbling stone. It was both a relief and misfortune that they couldn't see anything. At the least, Kankuro knew the building better than their pursuers. As if to prove him right, they were coming upon the staircase to the first floor after a few minutes.

The excitement was short lived though as Gaara's body grew heavier and his feet dragged along the floor rather than stumbling for some footing. Kankuro turned to Sakura to ask if they had any options, but the look on her face told him the answer.

They walked faster.

He ignored the splitting pain in his thigh as they descended to the first floor. It was almost surreal how unaffected it looked. Just one story up was the largest wreckage the Desert Kingdom had seen since before Gaara became king.

"Up ahead," Kankuro spoke quietly, pushing his legs faster until the trio were practically running. They came upon the metal door. Sakura pushed it open, shuffling sideways to accommodate the breadth of three people entering the room at once. "Gaara's chakra signature should still be good enough to open the door."

Sakura didn't question his words. "Does his hand need to touch the wood?" Her shoulders slumped a bit as Kankuro transferred his brother's wait to Sakura.

"Yeah. Press his hand to the door and it should open so long as the poison hasn't completely destroyed his chakra networks."

She nodded firmly. They took halting steps to the door in question, and Sakura carefully lifted Gaara's ashen hand, pressing his palm against the grain. It immediately clicked open and she shouldered past it, looking back at Kankuro. "Let's go."

"I'll hold them off a little longer."

"What—"

Kankuro pulled the wooden door shut as the metal one opened again.

 _I barely remember anything after that._

 _There was blood…_

 _…_ _Pain, probably, too._

Naruto blinked slowly, snatching Kankuro by the collar. "What happened to Sakura-chan and Gaara?" he growled.

"I don't know," he responded, grinding his teeth. "But they never paraded his corpse in front of me, so I'm guessing he's still alive out there. If Sakura was with him, I have even greater hope."

"Why are you still alive?" Sasuke.

Kankuro shook his head. "They needed my face to settle the public outcry about the damage done to the administrative building. Publicly, I was forced to report that Gaara had been heavily injured during an assassination attempt on his life—which was true anyway—but that he was recovering and that as his elder brother, I would be taking care of his duties in the meantime. The council can't very well work with that _puppet_ you saw sitting in Gaara's office, so my guess is they're keeping me around until they're sure Gaara is dead and gone. And then they'll move forward with their plans. Whatever those are." He grimaced. "If I step out of line, it only takes one flick of a finger to detonate this vest." His eyes wandered down to the chakra-infused explosives strapped around his torso.

"And no one has demanded to see Gaara?" Naruto snapped, emotions running rampant through his eyes.

Kankuro sighed. "Plenty have. But under orders, I've insisted that Gaara will take no visitors until he's fully healed. Additionally, the council saw it as reasonable when I suggested we close our borders for a while and keep secret that Gaara was attacked." The livid hatred in his gaze was explanation enough that everything was under the order of their assailants. "…I'm sure _they_ are aware there's a time limit on this whole set-up, though. It's been roughly four months. If he doesn't emerge as dead or alive, the public is going to throw a fit."

 _Click…click…click..._

"We've stayed too long." Sasuke pushed away from the door, eyes darting down the dark hall. Before Naruto could argue, he added, "Just because they have a use for him, doesn't mean they have one for us."

The blond quieted, shooting Kankuro a regretful look. "We'll find him before they do. I swear it."

Kankuro managed a weak smile. "I'm counting on you, Naruto." His eyes shifted to Sasuke, but the Uchiha was already bleeding into the darkness. "Both of you."


End file.
